The Other Hogwarts
by Imagen99
Summary: Harry's life can't get any worse. His family hates him, and so do most of Hogwarts, except for his best friends Hermione and Ron. So when he finds a little door that leads to another, better world can he convince them to stay?
1. Spying The Prey

_I Own Nothing! This is set just after Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback in the first book. This is just setting the scene. :) Thankyou to Hermionewiz27 who is the beta for this story :)_

An eleven year old Harry Potter strode through the dark corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry feeling absolutely terrible. On his own, he was wandering around the school at 11 o'clock at night trying not to cry because everything had gone drastically wrong. He had tried to go to sleep in his dormitory bed, but the week's events had kept him up. Practically the whole school now hated him, Neville and Hermione because of their previous 'jaunt' to the astronomy tower, which ended up losing Gryffindor house 150 points towards the house cup. Because of them the Slytherins were going to win again.

Professor McGonagall had assigned them all a detention too, and Harry was feeling very down trodden. He still felt that the 150 point and a detention was a bit too much for the prank she had expected them to pull. Ron had agreed with him, calling the Professor a few names that made Hermione gasp. Hermione on the other hand, was absolutely terrified of going to transfiguration now; she had been so upset by her Professor's words that Lavender grumpily told Dean she'd kept them awake the entire night with her incessant weeping. Hermione seemed to think that they'd deserved the punishment, and she continued to punish herself in Harry's opinion, what with all of the extra work she was doing. She took on extra work from all of the classes, except transfiguration, because neither Hermione nor Harry had any inclination to ever look their head of house in the eye again. In her words, she had been 'disgusted' with their behaviour and was likely still furious. She was not the only one.

The only people who would now talk to him were Ron and Hermione, and even his entire Quidditch team who once adored him for being their most talented seeker yet, now only referred to him as 'the seeker' when they needed to. It was awful. But he understood their anger, because the Slytherin's were now strutting about the school as if they owned it, and every time they saw him they would call out thanks which turned the other houses on him with renewed hatred. Even worse, however, was the guilt Harry felt for getting Neville involved. Both he and Hermione were better off than Harry himself, because they were less well-known, but Neville's tormentors had increased week by week, and Hermione herself was teased every time she put up her hand, and had eventually stopped doing so in class. Harry more than once ending up tripping over a student's foot, and Hermione regularly came into the common room with muddy robes. The other students hated them, and they were miserable. _It's not as if we even did anything wrong._ Harry thought bitterly, and he felt quite a strong sense of irritation for both McGonagall and Malfoy.

Lost in his thoughts, Harry didn't notice the brick wall until he had walked face first into it. Getting back up, he looked more closely, surprised that he'd never seen it before. He was sure that this wall hadn't ever been there before because this was the corridor he usually took to get to potions if he was running late. The wall itself was plain and dusty, but halfway down it there was a little door, so small only a child could crawl through with ease. It was thin and wooden, and had at some point long ago been painted to blend in with the rest of the wall. The whole structure looked ancient, older than even the school's walls and Harry wondered why he hadn't heard about it before. He also wondered why there was a now very weak glamour charm covering the whole thing, so that a few steps back you wouldn't be able to see the tiny door. _Someone didn't want anyone to find it. _Harry was just about to reach and turn the handle of the door, when he noticed the keyhole. Looking around, he couldn't see anywhere where the key would be hidden, and Harry found himself frustrated. He was curious about the door, and wanted to know what was behind it. He turned the handle anyway, expecting the extra force he put in to make the door open regardless, but was surprised when it didn't. This made him surer than ever that someone didn't want him to go through. _Maybe it is Professor Flitwick's. _He thought with some amusement. _Or… Maybe it has something to do with Nicholas Flamel._ But at the mention of that name again Harry remembered his current situation, and the shame and guilt bubbled up anew. He had sworn off of being nosy, and this door would just have to stay closed. Walking firmly away, Harry tried to forget where he had found it, but the unmistakeable image of its golden handle wouldn't leave his mind.

Eventually, he would crack.

I watched the little boy leave with a sense of satisfaction. He seemed so lost, so unhappy. So very vulnerable. A feral grin unfurled on my face as I licked my lips in anticipation. Turning gracefully I began humming a tune as I set to work on creating my newest doll in his honour. I would be finished just in time for him to wake up. As I set about working I remembered his green eyes. Such beautiful eyes they were, full of all kinds of emotion. It looked like I had found my newest pupil. I briefly wondered whether he had any more friends like him, and vowed to keep a look out, after all two children was always better than one. My heart ached, and so did my stomach. But for now I knew that I had to wait and watch. After all I would need a form to make better, and I would need to know much about the child…Harry.


	2. Temptation

_I Own Nothing! Thank you to Hermionewiz27 who is the beta for this story :)_

Harry dreamed of door knobs and floating keys, just out of reach. Hermione was singing hymns to him, whilst Ron was flying his Nimbus 2000. Then a shadow grabbed them both, and Harry was suddenly being dragged backwards into a dark hole whilst Professor McGonagall was laughing madly at him. Just as he fell into the hole a warning screech called out and Harry looked up to see…The ceiling. He'd woken up from the strange dream. After looking at the clock and deeming it too early, he turned back around and went back to sleep, promptly forgetting all about the dark hole and his dream.

That morning Harry woke up again to an empty dorm, and with a sleep-clogged mind he briefly realised he must've been late. Scrambling to put everything in his bag, he missed the small item that fell in with it. Running down the stairs, Harry didn't even bother to go to breakfast. He was used to the hunger; for the Dursleys had never been overly generous with their food.

Stumbling down the corridor, he met Hermione and Ron, who were waiting for him impatiently. "Harry we have transfiguration first, and if you don't hurry, we might be late!" Hermione grabbed his hand, and they ran to the fifth corridor, arriving just in time for their Professor to open the door. Harry grimaced when he received a slap around the head from Hermione for almost making them late and scurried in with Ron.

It was only when he got his books out that Harry noticed the small doll. Quickly stuffing it back into his bag, he took the brief few moments before class commenced to fully examine it. It seemed to be a perfect little replica of him, in his Hogwarts school uniform. The hair was crazy, and the shining green buttons he had for eyes matched his perfectly. It even had a tiny wand in its hand, and Harry found himself wondering who had taken the time to make it.

"Potter! Pay attention." He jumped, and stuffed his bag under his chair. As Professor McGonagall droned on and on about the theory of reflexive transfiguration he found his attention waning. He began to wonder who had constructed the tiny model of himself, and wondered absently whether it had anything to do with that door. Confused, Harry resolved to tell Ron and Hermione to see what they thought. As transfiguration went on and on, Harry couldn't help but notice that the Professor looked anywhere but at the three of them. '_Good'_ he thought savagely_ 'I hope she feels guilty!' _But he still wished that Hermione would put her hand up. With no one to answer her questions, the Professor was forced to ask members of the class, and even though Harry or Ron hadn't been called on yet, they were sure that their luck wouldn't last forever.

"Weasley! Can you tell me one of the three rules of reflexive transfiguration?" As Ron squirmed in his seat, Hermione leaned over and whispered the answer.

"Errr, the amount of power you put into the spell is the factor that determines how long it will last?" McGonagall's eyes flicked briefly to Hermione before she nodded and moved on. '_Not even a well done!' _Harry thought. Their Professor was in a terrible mood today. He almost ran out of the class, trying to avoid her. '_Only 5 more lessons to go_.' He thought longingly.

The rest of the day passed by very slowly for Harry, and as soon as he could he grabbed Hermione and Ron and pulled them into a secluded corner of the Gryffindor common room. "I've wanted to show you guys this all day, but I haven't had a chance." He swiftly drew the doll out from his bag and placed it on the table. Both of his friends stared at it for a moment before looking at him like he'd suddenly turned into a squid.

"So you have a weird collection of dolls Harry, and the reason you're saying this is….?" Ron said.

"No! This isn't mine; I mean I didn't make it, it just showed up on my trunk this morning." Hermione looked worried.

"Why would someone give you a doll?" She took a closer look at the doll, and used a variety of spells to examine it for any dark magic. "Well…it looks harmless, was there anything else you wanted to tell us Harry?" He explained to them at great length about the small door and the disappearing wall. Both were adamant that they should look for it. They were sure that the strange door and the doll were connected somehow.

"D'you reckon it's still there Harry?" Ron asked as they neared the corridor. Harry thought about how it had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"I dunno. Maybe it only shows up on Mondays or at night…" Harry said. "Here it is… Well, here's where it was…" Hermione suggested that they look around.

"It can't just disappear without a trace!" She exclaimed, looking about frantically. "Every bit of magic leaves a trace. The key must be somewhere near… " As Harry was crawling around on the cold stone floor he was very inclined to disagree with her. It was only as Ron let out a yell of surprise that he realised she may have had a point.

"I've found something! A key…probably fits in a golden handle. Was this the one you were talking about Harry?" As Harry held it in his hands a feeling of security swept over him, and knew that it was.

"Yeah. Yeah it is Ron." He said, turning it around in his hand. He half expected the door to appear before them. Hermione looked up, a determined expression on her face.

"Well that's it then. We should go and give this key to a prefect or someone, and have them deal with it. It could lead somewhere dangerous- in fact, this doll could be dangerous." Harry immediately felt sad again, he wanted, no _needed_ to know what was behind the door.

"No Hermione! We don't even know where it leads to. We could at least explore it, and I'm sure if it was dangerous Dumbledore would've warned the school about it. He knows everything about the school. Besides, aren't you even a little curious?" At the mixed expression on her face, he knew he'd only just won her over.

"…Okay Harry. But we can't go tonight. Lavender and Parvati are having a slumber party and they'll notice if I sneak out." Harry was slightly disappointed that they couldn't do anymore investigating that day, but went back with the two anyway.

It was only when he was ready for bed that he heard Ron's shout of surprise, and was squashed by the over excited boy jumping on him. "Harry look at this! I've got one too!" And sure enough, a little doll size version of Ron was in his hands. Each freckle was there, and Harry was surprised to note that they'd even included the scruffy way Ron did his tie on the uniform. Again, two blue buttons replaced Ron's normal blue eyes. "What do you think it means?"

"I don't know. I guess we can rule out any of the boy-who-lived's fans, or stalkers. Have Neville, Seamus or Dean got one?" After some quick snooping around they discovered the answer was in the negative.

"Weird. I wonder if Hermione has one." The boys then went down to the common room, to see if she was studying when she appeared, a doll in her arms too. The doll was again a perfect replica of her, except for the cinnamon button eyes.

"This is getting strange Harry. None of the other girls have one. What about the boys in your dorm?" When they answered, she sat down with a thoughtful look on her face. "Maybe I should go to the library…" But Harry had a better idea.

"No. I think we should go tonight to that corridor Hermione. It might be our only chance; maybe the dolls somehow help us in?" Hermione was torn, but at Harry's request followed them anyway. In her words they would be better off with her than without her. Harry drew out his invisibility cloak and they all huddled under it before setting off, wands in hand ready for anything.

The journey was relatively quiet, and they had only a few close encounters with Filch and patrolling teachers. When they had run into Mrs Norris, the school's hated cat, Ron had conjured a stuffed mouse which the cat diligently chased.

"How did you do that Ron?" Hermione asked.

"I dunno really Hermione; I was actually trying to stun her." Ron admitted.

"But that's completely different….The wand incantation-"

"It's here!"

As soon as they found the wall again all else left their minds. "Harry…This looks old. I mean, older than the school." Ron muttered. "Try the key!" Harry did as he was told and turned the handle. Despite the doors rusty appearance it swung open with ease. Looking beyond, they saw a small tunnel, decorated in patterns of red and gold. Just visible at the end was a small light.

Ron stepped back, suddenly nervous. "You want to go first Hermione?"

"No!" she squealed. "There could be anything there!"

"I'll go" Harry said with a tone of exasperation. And he began crawling through to the end. As he went through, the journey seemed to be getting shorter and shorter, until finally he fell out into an office. When Hermione joined him, they looked around. The office was very bright, and looked quite comfortable. There were knick knacks everywhere, and a large tray of ginger newts on the table. On the desk was a large Gryffindor crest, with a small photo album. As they were looking around Harry heard a low humming. "Can you hear that?" The other two nodded, and they followed the sound into an empty classroom. And sitting there at her desk, marking papers was Professor McGonagall.

But it wasn't Professor McGonagall. She looked different, and not at all strict. Instead of her usual thick teaching robes, she wore a light summer dress in Gryffindor maroon. Her spectacles that usually made her look so sharp were gone, and her hair was no longer in its tight bun, but falling in cascades down her back. As he got closer, he saw that her face no longer looked so old, and she was _smiling. _But as she looked up and looked him in the eye Harry almost screamed and ran. In the place of her normal emerald eyes were two emerald _buttons!_

"Oh, Harry dear! And Hermione and Ronald too! Bless you all, I've been waiting you know." She said as she stood up from her desk. For once Harry and Ron were both speechless, staring at her buttons and wondering what had happened to their Professor.

"Um, please excuse me but, who are you?" Hermione asked timidly. She was clutching her doll rather tightly, and took a step backwards from the strange woman.

The peculiar person flashed a toothy grin and replied. "Why I'm your head of house my dear!"

At this Ron blurted out. "But you're not Professor McGonagall!"

"No dear, I'm your other head of house. Every magical school has one, didn't you know?" She laughed breezily, and reached behind her desk, pulling out a tin of cookies. "I do hope you're all hungry, I made enough for three!" And inside was a beautiful selection of chocolate chip, double choc, cherry and lemon cookies. She held them out, asking them to try one.

Ron wasted no time in eating one, but the other two were more cautious. Harry took a bit, and was pleasantly surprised at the delicious flavour. It tasted like a mixture of all of his favourite sweets and desserts, and slid down his throat like honey. At seeing his blissful reaction, Hermione followed and let out a surprised moan at the taste. "Mmm. Thank you." Both boys repeated this as Ron reached for another.

Their Professor only chuckled, and set the tray down. "Thank you children. Now, what would you like to do in your lessons today?" Harry blinked.

"We get to choose?" Their other Professor nodded, smiling gently.

"Anything we want?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"Anything at all." She replied. Hermione's eyes widened.

"Ohh, can you teach us how to-"

"Let's play wizard chess!" Ron interrupted.

"Now Ron, please apologise for interrupting Hermione. I won't have my children being rude." The woman said gently, showing that she wasn't that upset. Ron apologised quickly, but Harry seemed confused.

"Your children? What do you mean Professor?" The other head of house looked surprised.

"My poppet, don't you know? I think of all my students, especially you three, as my children." She replied in disbelief. "Don't tell me you other head of house has never told you that? You three are my favourites you know. I know it's not very Professional, but I am your head of house! And you three are just so darn adorable!" She gave a wink, and then looked at the clock. "Now, goodness look at the time, we need to hurry. Come along now children." She then bustled them along to the next room.

"Wow…" Was all that escaped Ron's mouth. Inside was a giant chess set, and two podiums where the players could sit.

"I take it you like it then? Now you can either play together against the set, or against each other. Understand? Good. Now you boys run along and play, whilst Hermione and I have a chat." With that she grabbed Hermione's hand and walked off, leaving the two boys to their fun. She led the little Gryffindor to a small corner, where they could see what was happening, but couldn't hear it.

"Now sweetie, what was it you wanted to learn?"

"Well I'd always wondered when Profes- I mean the other Professor McGonagall was going to teach us about turning people into animals. Could we learn that?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Yes, definitely dear. I think we should start with the actual spell casting, since you seem to know the theory already. Now here is the wand movement, and you need to imagine what you want the animal to become…" Hermione nodded, she was delighted.

The next few hours were spent in total bliss for the three young Gryffindors, and they wanted for nothing. However, the time spent casting numerous spells soon wore Hermione out, and after the boys got bored of playing wizard chess; the other Professor McGonagall conjured up a multitude of other games. She then asked Hermione if she'd like to help her cook dinner and boys volunteered to help too. The children helped with the desert- a huge cake, whilst the other Professor made shepherd's pie. When she went out of the room to collect some vegetables, Ron playfully flicked a pile of flour at Hermione, who in retaliation squirted some cream back at him, and it soon snowballed into a huge food fight. Harry was winning, with the other two covered in the most food when suddenly the commotion stopped as their other Professor re-entered. They waited for the inescapable telling off, but were surprised as a huge bag of flour was unceremoniously dumped on the three magically. The older woman was laughing again, and this time it sounded like tinkling bells. She looked at their faces of astonishment as they turned to glee and swiftly hid behind the table. A full on war ensued, with vegetables, flour and cream going everywhere and it was only stopped by the completion of dinner. The other mother insisted that they get cleaned up first, and she wiped most of the dirt of off their faces with a handkerchief, performing a quick _scourgify_ for their clothes.

"Now sit down dears, and eat up." The three sat down and ate as much as they could whilst their head of house nibbled on her salad. Conversation flowed freely and the atmosphere was very relaxed. "…And tomorrow I was thinking we could play some quidditch. What do you think boys?" As they fervently nodded, Hermione yawned. The clock now read 11 O'clock at night. "Oh dear, look at the time. I think you should all be in bed." She led them up to their new dorm, which they shared. "I think this should be suitable.

The room was again an improved version of their dorm, there were only thee beds, but they were massive and the mattresses were soft. The room was decorated in Gryffindor colours and wizarding posters. At the foot of each bed was a trunk, but it wasn't filled with their possessions. It contained newer and more expensive versions of everything. The other Professor pointed them to their changing rooms and left briefly to get hot chocolate.

When she came back Harry was back in his newer pyjamas, and Ron in his brand new ones. Hermione was wearing a silk set and she giggled about how her parents had never let her have them because they were too expensive. The other Professor replied, "Nothing but the best for my children, before putting her to bed. At that moment Hermione suddenly looked pensive. She kissed them each on the forehead after tucking them in.

"Good night darlings."

"Good night Professor." They murmured.

"Do you think we should go back through the tunnel tomorrow and tell them where we are?" Hermione sleepily asked. Both boys disagreed.

"No one cares anyway. I like it here!" Harry said. He was hoping to spend a little more time with the other Professor, and wanted her to like him.

"Hermione don't worry, it'll be fine. No one will be looking for us, not even Percy…" Ron stated as he turned around and fell asleep. Harry soon followed, snuggling tightly into his duvet.

Hermione stayed awake a little longer, thinking about her home with her parents. But when she thought of Hogwarts, and the contrast between it and this new and wonderful world, she shrugged and closed her eyes, giving into the overwhelming sense of tiredness that shrouded her.


	3. Becoming Complacent

_I Own Nothing! Thank you to Hermionewiz27 who is the beta for this story :)_

Ron woke up to hear the thundering of Dean and Seamus as they went downstairs for breakfast. He sleepily thought about how he should ask the other Professor for eggs that morning when the names and sounds registered. 'Dean and Seamus?' He bolted upright in bed and looked about. "Harry?" In the bed next to his Harry mumbled sleepily then turned over. "Harry we're back at school! Wait... Do you remember last night?" Harry heaved himself up and blearily opened his eyes. He blinked a couple of times seeing the normal dorm room and turned to look at Ron.

"Didn't we…." Ron nodded.

"What happened?" He asked, worried that they'd never go back. "Maybe we should ask Hermione." With that in mind they rushed through getting dressed in their uniforms and hurtled down the stairs. Hermione was as usual in her little corner waiting for them.

"Did you two…" She started nervously. The boys nodded and explained how they woke up. "Well, maybe this is normal, maybe we have to go back every night. Should we go back tonight?" Both boys didn't hesitate.

"Of course!"

"Bloody hell Hermione, yeah we should!"

"Okay then, we should go to classes today though, and I'll do some reading in the library at lunch- you don't have to be there! Then we can go back tonight and ask the other Professor." She said. But as Harry wandered off to his first class, he couldn't resist checking to see if the corridor was there. It wasn't.

Classes passed by as usual for the three. Harry and Hermione were constantly teased whilst Ron was always defending them. As their last lesson was over Hermione let out a huge sigh and scurried off to the library. Harry walked up to Gryffindor tower and lay in bed, whilst Ron meandered about the hallways.

~~~/~~~

In the darkest corner of the library Hermione was searching for any information about the other Professor. She had to stay silent and small, as she didn't want any of the other students noticing her. Recently, the bullying had worsened whenever Harry or Ron weren't around. Almost every student had a name for her now, and it varied between 'know-it-all', 'teacher's pet', and 'mudblood'. Some of them were even brave enough to start pushing her around, and Hermione was hating it. She was used to the treatment of course. Before Hogwarts Hermione had been through 8 primary schools, and she knew how the bullying would progress. First ignoring her, then names, then pushing, then shoving and finally all around fights. Hermione had been in quite a few of those, and she was always thankful her Dad had taught her how to throw a punch after her first one. Because try as she might Hermione couldn't make friends, they were always put off by the mixture of weird stuff that happened around her or her brains. And it always ended in the fights that got them all in trouble. So every time the bullies got too bad, Hermione's parents would move her to a new school.

She'd been glad when Professor McGonagall had explained about Hogwarts, she'd thought they'd be different. But they weren't. And Hermione's life here was only getting worse.

~~~/~~~

Harry lay in his bed thinking about the other Professor, and how nice she'd been to all of them. He also couldn't help thinking of how she'd kissed them all good night, and how she spoke to them. It seemed almost…motherly. Harry was rather pleased with the thought. It made him feel wanted, differently to how Hermione and Ron wanted him. It made him feel safer, more secure, and he found himself wishing with all his heart that the little door would again be there tonight.

Sometimes he wondered what his life would be like if he had had loving parents. Would he still be friends with Hermione, or Ron? He knew that his life would certainly be better. He could've had friends, not fans. He could've had real siblings…

Not like Dudley, who beat him up with his friends. Not like Petunia or Vernon, who treated him like dirt. Sometimes he wondered how the wizarding world would react if they knew about his home life. But thinking about his current situation he scowled. '_They wouldn't care.' _

He thought of the other Professor, and how nice she seemed. _'She might.'_ He thought about telling her what his life was like. '_Maybe she'd let me stay…'_ Harry knew he would have to speak to her about it. He decided he should wait a couple of days, just to be safe.

~~~/~~~

Ron growled at his older twin brothers. "Give that back! I'll tell Percy!" They danced his chess set just out of his reach.

"Okay Ronniekins, but first we want you to do something for us." Fred grinned.

"Only a small thing mind you, but dead useful."

"We need you to go to the great hall and retrieve something for us-"

"-We'd look suspicious you see, but not you-"

"-And if you don't we'll get rid of this. So do we have a deal?" Ron looked at the twins and weighed his options. He knew they were serious so he reluctantly agreed. He muttered darkly about his annoying siblings under his breath as he walked back to the great hall.

When he got there, he had to look around for a long time to find the switch to one of their pranks. When he finally found it he practically ran out of the great hall and into Percy.

"Ron! You can't run in the corridors- what's that you've got?" He eyed the device warily.

"Uh-Well Fred and George asked me-"

"Ron! I thought better of you, you can't go along helping them with their pranks, it's silly. I'm afraid I'm going to have to inform Professor McGonagall."

"What? But I didn't-" But Percy ignored his protests and stalked off. '_Great. Bloody fantastic.'_ Ron thought. _'I get detention thanks to my stupid brothers.'_ He stomped off back to Gryffindor tower and snatched his chess set from the twins before stomping up to his room and screaming into his pillow. '_Why can't my family be nice?' _

~~~/~~~

The trio waited that night until just after curfew before sneaking out. They practically ran down the halls, desperate to get to their location. In their haste they also missed waking up the sleeping Neville outside of the portrait. Wondering what had just happened; Neville crawled back up to his dorm only to notice Harry and Ron's absence. The round faced boy wondered where they'd run off to, and vowed to stop them the next time unless they got caught. He didn't want Gryffindor to loose even more points.

Meanwhile the trio tumbled out of the door way to see the smiling face of the other Professor brandishing cookies. "Eat up! I'm so glad you came again darlings." She shined.

Sitting at the table, she explained how they'd ended up in their beds. "You can only stay here for the night I'm afraid, then you have to go back until the next one." Harry looked crestfallen. "But enough of that, I have another surprise for you!" She led them out to the garden, and showed off a spectacular Quidditch pitch. "I brought some friends to see you!" And the whole Quidditch team appeared. But these people had button eyes again.

"Hi Ron, Harry! I'm the other Wood." The wood look alike said. It was soon revealed that everyone had another self in the other world. But to the children, it seemed that the people of this world weren't mad at them, in fact they seemed to love them. The other Wood showed the boys a new set of brooms, and suggested that they test them out. "We could play a game! Harry could play as seeker, Ron as keeper." Ron beamed.

"I always wanted to play Keeper." And the boys were successfully sucked into their Quidditch. The other Professor watched them play for a while, before turning to Hermione.

"Now for you Hermione, I thought you'd like to do some lessons. I've organised a schedule for you with Professor Flitwick. A cheerful Flitwick flew over.

"Hermione! Today we're working on charming fruit!" He grinned, and led Hermione off to the side. His blue button eyes followed her as she skipped over. "Well first you have me, then Professor Sprout is going to be taking you in advanced Herbology…"

Ecstatic, Hermione followed him into one replica of the real Flitwick's class room. This one was much more interesting and full of strange things. Lost in her own world Hermione began furiously asking questions and making comments. The other Professor left with a smile on her face, happy that Hermione was occupied enough, and walked back to the Quidditch pitch. But she hissed when she saw Harry flying alongside a bird.

They were ducking and diving and Harry was having a great time. "I didn't know you could come here Hedwig!" He yelled.

"I don't like to Harry." That sentence nearly caused him to fall off of his broom.

"You can speak?" He asked incredulously.

"Only in this world." She cooed softly. "I have little time, but you need to be careful with that woman, she's not what you think. I can't warn you in our world, but she's dangerous." Harry frowned.

"She's been really nice to me. Are you sure?" Hedwig nipped at his finger.

"Of course I am! Leave here and never return Harry."

"But why?"

"I cannot say, there are laws restricting me. Laws that govern my magic." She nipped him again. "You aren't listening to me."

"I just want to give her a chance Hedwig. I'm not going to leave just because you heard something bad about her. She's been nothing but nice and she waits every night for us here."

"Harry-" At that moment Hedwig shrieked and moved away.

"Harry dear, could you come down here a minute?" The other Professor called. Harry obligingly flew down. "You fly amazingly well you know, I'm so glad you're on our team." The elder woman reached over and hugged him, and Harry felt quite pleasant.

"Thanks." He smiled.

"Now Harry, I don't want you flying around with birds like that, they could easily distract you and I wouldn't want you hurt, understand?" Harry nodded. He thought about telling her what Hedwig what said, but decided against it. He didn't want to offend her.

The other Professor smiled, and patted Harry on the shoulder. "Now you go up there and play with Ron, whilst I make dinner. Hmm?" Harry flew to join Ron, who was doing drills with the other Wood.

Her serene smile turning into a smirk, the other Professor waltzed back into her kitchen and set to work on dinner humming a unique tune. "She'll eat you alive, she'll skin you whole but she loves you, yes she does, She takes better care, yes she does…" but her singing was cut short by the flapping of wings.

"I know what you are Beldam." The woman hissed at the name, and batted at the wings of her intruder.

"I didn't invite you here, nuisance." She growled.

"I won't let you get them. Be warned." The other Professor swiped again, and watched with beady eyes as the owl flew away. She muttered some curses under her breath and set to work finishing the children's dinner.

~~~/~~~

The trio happily chatted as they ate their dinner, telling each other about their tasks that day. "Then Wood let me dive, and I kind of fell off of the broom, but the other Fred and George didn't even laugh. They just helped me back up…it was nice." Ron finished.

"Charms was absolutely amazing!" Hermione gushed as they chomped on their favourite foods. Once they were finished the other Professor came in holding her wand.

"Children, I want to show you something!" She pushed them back into the garden and they watched as they were treated to a fireworks display courtesy of Fred and George. As they watched the colours and swirls the words 'Welcome home' were spelled out in the sky.

That night, after the three were kissed goodnight they stayed up chatting excitedly and giggling every so often. It went unsaid, but they knew that they didn't want to wake up in the real world. Eventually they succumbed to sleep and the world of dreams.


	4. Suspecting Something

_I Own Nothing! Thanks again Hermionewiz27 :)_

Over the next few days Hermione, Harry and Ron spent more and more time in the other school. They rushed from the common room as early as possible and greeted their Other Professor with smiling faces. "We're sorry we couldn't come sooner!" They'd chorus, and the other professor would merely smile favourably and direct them to their newest lessons for the day. The basic routine was always the same; they'd run down, be greeted and start their lessons, after they'd chat at dinner and then the other professor would send them off to bed. What did vary was the time she spent with each of the three. One day she would follow Hermione around, delighting her with stories and tales, the next Harry would be showered with love and affection, and then Ron would be given praise and attention. Slowly, the other professor was becoming more and more important in their lives. And she knew it. As the days went by the presents and surprises became more and more extravagant, the hugs more motherly, and her influence more pronounced.

Life in the real world had changed little though. Harry and Hermione were still hated, and Ron continued being tormented by his elder brothers. On top of this, the three were becoming increasingly tired even in the day, and had to fight to keep themselves awake. "Miss Granger! Misters Potter and Weasley! Would you kindly wake up and pay attention to my class! 20 points from Gryffindor! If I am boring you that much then perhaps I should send you to Professor Dumbledore!" McGonagall had barked at them one day. Hermione had been horrified with herself, but Harry and Ron could only scowl at their teacher's actions. Their mood did not improve when she again cornered them after class. "You three see me in my office. Now." The three gloomily trudged in, their bags with them. As Harry came in, he tripped and the contents of his fell all over the floor. Hermione and Ron rushed to help him, and the Professor stooped down to pick up an object. "Aren't you a little old for dolls Mr Potter?" She asked sardonically. Harry felt his cheeks heat up.

"It was a present Professor…" He mumbled. McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure. However I don't see the need to bring it to every class Mr Potter. If I see it again I shall confiscate it." Harry nodded, feeling slightly humiliated. Hermione frowned.

"There aren't any rules against it Professor." She piped up.

"Miss Granger I am your Professor and if I judge this…doll to be inhibiting Mr Potter's learning then I will use the right to ban it from my class." The stern reply came. Hermione winced, and frowned. '_The Other Professor wouldn't act like this._' The thought crept into her mind, and Hermione felt a tinge of regret. It was instantly smothered at her Professor's next words.

"Now. Your detention shall commence tonight with me, at 9 o'clock. I expect you three to be here on the dot." The three frowned. That meant that they would be late for the Other Professor.

"Professor, what's my detention for?" Ron asked, confused.

"Your brother Percy told me about you helping your brothers. It will be easier to serve your detentions together. Please remind Mr Longbottom to be there before you leave. He has a tendency to forget." The three waited around uncertainly, unsure if they were able to leave or not. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go." She suddenly barked.

They jumped into action. "Oh and you three…" This froze them in their spots. "I expect you to never fall asleep in my class again or I will personally come up to your dorms to check that you are asleep at 8 O'clock each night. That is a warning. Now you may leave." As the three tumbled out of the door they pushed past a very bemused headmaster. Out of the blue, Harry stopped running.

"The doll! I left it there!" He exclaimed. The other two looked at him quizzically.

"Do you really want to go and get it?" Ron asked. "With her in that mood?" Hermione looked at him like he was mad.

"The Other Professor gave it to me…Are you coming with me or not?" He asked. They looked at each other before nodding slowly, setting off in the direction of their Professor's office at a considerably slower pace than their previous one.

~~~/~~~

"Is that really necessary Minerva? 50 points each and a detention? I do think that is a bit extreme." A calm Albus Dumbledore said sagely. He wandered around her classroom examining her papers.

"Albus, you know as well as me that it would have been an overreaction for any other student, but not Potter. As you insist on keeping that stone in the school, I insist on keeping my students in their beds at night. This will guarantee that they stay asleep where they should be. It simply is not safe for Harry Potter to be wandering the halls at night with his two friends following him everywhere. If someone come looking for the stone they will have no chance." Minerva primly stated.

"Ah. You could've just said you were worried about them Minerva. No need to make it sound so professional."

"It is professional! They are my students-"

"-Students that you are exceptionally fond of. You always did go harder on those ones, however if you are not careful they're going to think you hate them." Minerva glared at him viciously.

"If you are going to continue in this topic of conversation I would rather you leave now." She snapped. He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"So what have you organised for the 'hoodlums'?" He sat down elegantly opposite his fuming deputy.

"They will be cleaning the animal cages manually for three hours. The rest I will see to myself." At that moment a timid knock was heard, and the headmaster jovially called for the person to come in. Harry Potter peered through, and behind him we two other anxious faces.

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "What can I do for you Mr Potter?" She asked as serenely as she could.

"Err…Professor, I was wondering whether I could have my…err…doll back?" He blushed a deep scarlet, matching his friend's hair.

"Certainly." She sent him the doll, but not before marvelling at the workmanship.

"Thanks Professor, see you at nine." Harry practically squeaked out. The door slammed shut, leaving the room silent.

"Well that was certainly the worst expression of terror on young Mr Potter's face I have ever seen."

"Albus…." She answered in a warning tone. But her former teacher would not let it drop.

~~~/~~~

It was a very cautious trio that stepped through with a scared Neville into their Professor's presence. Harry was first, and Ron and Hermione were almost dragging a terrified Neville with them. "The sooner we get here and serve the detention, the sooner we can leave." Hermione muttered to him. He gathered himself for a moment, and then strode into the classroom.

Their Professor was at her desk scribbling over a few essays when she looked up. "Ah yes. Today, you will be cleaning the animal cages by hand. Utensils and equipment are in the store cupboard. Please keep the noise down, although you may talk." And then she swiftly returned to her work.

The four worked in silence, every so often one of them would come across something foul and the others would crowd around and make faces. But as the evening wore on, the trio were constantly looking at the clock above the desks. This did not go unnoticed by Neville. "We have to spend three hours doing this Harry, looking at the clock doesn't help. Trust me." He said wearily. Despite this the three were forever glancing at the rest of the clock. In fact, they noticed that it was time to go before their Professor did.

Hermione contemplated telling her of the time, but remembered the mood her Professor was in. Her response would not be good. Finally Minerva glanced at the clock herself, ten minutes late and called them to the front. "I trust that you will all think twice before breaking the rules again?" They nodded in unison. "Good." She cast a quick spell before letting them go. "That will get rid of the smell and clean yourselves of any dirt. You may go now." Glad that she had become a little friendlier again, the four ran back to their dorms and raced to bed.

~~~/~~~

Ron sat in his bed, listening to the other boy's steady breaths. "…Harry?" He whispered. There was a quiet reply, and both boys slowly crept out of bed and down the stairs. But they were unaware of the little boy who followed them, and seeing them slip under the invisibility cloak Neville was positive that they were going out to do more trouble. Feeling a spurt of Gryffindor pride he walked out of the portrait, intent on stopping them. But he soon realised that following an invisible trio was harder than it looks. He listened closely to their steps and managed to follow them in he walked really slowly. Thankfully he didn't run into a teacher and when he turned the third floor corridor there was no one to hear his gasp of surprise. He had just seen Ron crawling through a tiny door that had appeared out of nowhere! Unsure of what to do, he wracked his hands, before deciding that they weren't scared and so he had no reason to be. Even so, as Neville crawled through the little tunnel he did so with the utmost caution and a small sense of dread.

~~~/~~~

"Darlings! I was afraid you wouldn't come." The Other Professor chirped, her sad face melting into a pleased one. All at once the children began talking.

"Well we didn't mean to but that awful profess-"

"Three hours! Three hours and fifty points each Professor!"

"She's a right old bat she is, I can't believe she was so mean to-"

The Other Professor blinked. "Hush! Darlings, you can't all talk at once. Now, Hermione please tell me where you were."

"In detention."

"Why Ron?"

"Because that old- Err Professor McGonagall gave it to us."

"What for Harry dear?"

"Because we were trying to get Hagrid out of trouble, and Ron was forced to do a prank by his brothers!" She frowned.

"Well that doesn't seem fair at all." The three nodded vigorously. "I…may have to have a talk with her about that at some point…" The Other Professor's face turned sour for a moment, before she perked up. "Let's leave that behind for now, because I have someone for you all to meet!" She then led them out of her office and through a maze of corridors. "Now he's ever so excited because he hasn't had the chance to meet you yet, but I am sure that you'll love him." And she led them up a spirally staircase right into a huge office.

"Hello my little ones!" The figure was tall, and wore a red robe decorated in golden lions. His buttons eyes twinkled blue as he reached out to embrace them. "Would you care for a lemon drop?"

"P-P-Professor Dumbledore?" Harry stuttered out.

"Yes my dear boy. Your other, improved, Headmaster." The Other Head of House walked over to him and they linked hands. Hermione looked at them.

"You…Are…Huh?" The Other Professor chuckled.

"Yes darling, and now that we're together it's like one big, happy family!" Harry's eyes watered and he dived into their open arms.

"But…We already have a family…" Ron muttered with his eyes downcast.

"You mean those horrid siblings of yours who don't care? Or you mother who obviously prefers Ginny? Ronnie, don't you see? It's so much better here." The Other Professor pleaded, Ron wavered.

"Hermione darling? You can't honestly tell me that your parents understand you like we do. We love you. Come here sweetie." They held their arms out invitingly and Ron crashed in. Hermione looked at her boy's pleading eyes and soon followed them.

The hug was warm and ensconcing and it made her feel safe. She almost didn't want it to end. However, it soon did when the Other Professor suddenly said "I must be going now darlings, but your Headmaster is taking care of you tonight." And she swept out of the room.

The other Albus looked at them jovially. "Now, who wants to go practice some duelling?" The three immediately nodded enthusiastically and followed him.

~~~/~~~

"Harry? Hermione? Ron?" Came the scared voice of Neville. He didn't like this place, it was too…bright. Too creepy, and it reminded him of the stories his grandmother told him as a child. He heard footsteps and almost screamed as a tall person walked in. "Hello pumpkin, I'm so glad you came…"

~~~/~~~

Harry, Hermione and Ron went to sleep that Friday night, eager for the weekend and what it would bring in the Other School. They smiled as the each received a small peck on the cheek from their Heads and rolled over into a peaceful sleep.

~~~/~~~

"I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! BELDAM!" Neville screamed, pounding on the box's walls. "LET ME OUT!" He yelled in desperation.

"Now Sweetie, you need to learn your lesson. We shouldn't go around talking to our elders like that. Nor should we walk into places where we are uninvited. As soon as you apologise you may come out."

"NO! NO!"

"Oh sweetie, I only want what's best for you… As soon as you apologise we can go have some fun!"

"Listen to your Professor, Mr Longbottom."

"…Headmaster?"

_MMAD- I love it but it isn't happening in the real world. However the Beldam likes the idea of a family so…Yup._


	5. Realising the Truth

_I Own Nothing! Thanks people who reviewed! Many Thanks again to Hermionewiz :)_

That morning the three children woke up happily, dreaming of their next time in the Other School. They spent the whole of their mornings doing homework- something Hermione had convinced the boys to do- and playing chess. Eventually Harry and Ron decided to go down to the quidditch pitch whilst Hermione practiced the more advanced spells she'd learned in her other lessons. The rest of the morning was spent in boredom, with the three children wondering what exciting things would be in store for them that night.

When the children decided it was time for lunch the wandered languidly down to the great hall, slightly reluctant to leave their sunshine and books behind them. When they did get to the great hall, they were instantly bombarded by the familiar delicious smells of Hogwarts food. As they sat down, Ron couldn't resist whispering "You know, I think the Other Professor's cooking is much better than this, I wonder if she'll make me a cake…" Hermione and Harry merely sighed at his enthusiasm, listening half-heartedly as Ron explained how the Other Professor was teaching him to cook his own food- something his mother wouldn't trust him to do.

However their little conversation was soon interrupted by their head of house sweeping over to them. "Have either of you three seen Mr Longbottom?" She almost barked. Minerva's fingers curled as she tried to keep her panic down. When the three shook their heads she bit her lip. "I see, well if you happen to see him I would like you to inform him that I wish to speak with him at once." Her harsh tone left the three puzzled, and as she left the insatiable curiosity of the three reared its head.

"What d'you think that was about?"

"Neville can't have done anything else wrong."

"Maybe it'd be better to just tell the poor sod to hide…"

…

"…Have you actually seen Neville? At all?"

"I haven't seen him all day. He might be in the green houses though."

"Professor McGonagall would've checked there first."

"Why would she do that?"

"She does take an interest Ronald, she even knows about your chess."

"Rubbish! If she cared that much, she'd be nicer."

Hermione and Ron argued all of the way back to the common room, continuing to snipe at each other until Harry told them to shut up rather more aggressively than was warranted. They both fell silent, and no one spoke for a while. After two minutes, as one their eyes drifted to the clock above the mantel piece. They had approximately three whole hours to go before they could sneak back to the other school. The resulting groan was filled with longing and no small amount of irritation.

~~~/~~~

In her private rooms Minerva McGonagall hung her head in her hands, breathing deeply and trying to get herself under control. Neville Longbottom had been missing for a whole 14 hours 32 minutes and, as of now, 32 seconds. It was true that, according to the wards he hadn't left the school grounds, but in a magical school that meant nothing. There were plenty of things inside the school itself that were harmful, including Fluffy, and Minerva was out of her mind with worry.

The boy had been seen late last night, but one would think that the children would've seen Mr Longbottom in the morning before they awoke. This behaviour was quite unlike him, and Minerva had spent the day trying to locate him, but coming up fruitless. Asking her three Gryffindor cubs at lunch had truly been her last option, and after helplessly informing Albus of the situation, and spending three hours wandering around the castle she had retreated to her private rooms.

Unable to fall asleep, Minerva graded essays and planned lessons until she was weeks ahead. Exhausted, her eyelids finally started to droop around midnight when a sharp noise startled her. A Snowy white owl that she absentmindedly recognised as Potter's was rapping determinedly on her glass. Marching to her ornate window, she swiftly opened the lock and let the creature fly in. But to her confusion, the owl didn't give her a letter of any kind; it just continued to pull sharply on her robes.

Irritated, she snapped and transformed. "What is your business here?" Her voice was a hiss, her animagus fur was on end, and the owl stopped at once. It started to screech impatiently, and Minerva frowned. Talking to another mammal in her animagus form was simple, but talking to the snowy white bird left her utterly bemused. After a few moments of intent thought, she pieced together what the owl was trying to get across. "…Danger? Where?"

~~~/~~~

Harry, Ron and Hermione crawled through the little doorway eagerly, shouting their entrance to their Other Professor. She came in as usual, beaming at them and ushered them into the kitchen. Standing inside it was the headmaster, whistling and humming. As they entered, he turned around and produced a tray of cakes.

"Hello my little ones! Care for a cake?" He boomed. All three took one eagerly, praising the food's taste. "Wait until you see the surprise we have for you three today!" He winked excitedly.

"Now Albus, don't tease the darlings." Cooed the Other Professor gently. She reached around him and brought the three into a hug. "I did miss you so." Harry smiled, and leaned into her as she withdrew. Hermione bounced across the room.

"What is it? Are we learning something new today?" She interrogated the Other Headmaster quickly. He chuckled, and said she would find out soon enough.

The two Other Professors then led the three children through the castle, into the grounds. They were then treated to a dazzling fairy lights display, with lights of all colours whizzing around in whimsical shapes and sizes. Next came a delicious buffet of gigantic proportions, leaving even Ron completely full, before the flying display. Ron and Harry were each given nimbus 2000's, with Hermione flying alongside the other professor on a Pegasus instead. To Hermione's surprise she found that despite her fear of flying, The Other Professor's presence was soothing enough for her to enjoy being up in the air. They spent hours doing various maneuverers, playing games and generally enjoying each other's company.

By the end of the evening the three were buzzing, completely enamoured with their Other Professors and the Other School.

"Now darlings, it is time for your real surprise." The Other Professor led them into her office, button eyes twinkling. Once they were inside, she handed them each a small box. "Go on- open them." She said smoothly.

Unwrapping the red and gold ribbons, the children opened the box to find a needle and two black buttons inside. Hermione frowned. "Professor? What are these for?" She glanced at the buttons eyes of her Other Head of House and then looked alarmed at the buttons.

"Just an offer darling. You do like it here, don't you? I thought you'd like to stay here forever, with your new father and I." The Other Professor explained. Hermione frowned at her words.

"New father?" She whispered.

"We've already been through this poppet, haven't we? You other parents don't understand you like we do- and your other teachers don't treat you very well. Here you are loved." Hermione wavered slightly.

"So what are the needles for?" Ron asked, slightly scared.

"Oh it won't hurt, just a prick dear. You see, to stay here forever you need those, otherwise you won't stay for long." She noticed Harry's uncertain look.

"We have them in all colours, even green. I picked out your colours, but if you don't like them we can easily get some more…" The Other Professor cocked her head to the side, and reached out to the children.

"What's the matter? Don't you want to stay?" The Other Headmaster asked solemnly.

Ron's eyes flicked to the needle and back. "I don't want…Can't I just keep coming back?" He whimpered.

"You'll age darling, and eventually grow up. Then you'll forget about this place and never return." She sounded hurt. "Don't you wish to stay with us forever?"

A silence hung in the air, leaving the room uncomfortable. Harry started fidgeting. '_Not my eyes! My mother's eyes…'_ He touched his glasses. _'But she…'_

"…I don't think I want to." Hermione's voice wavered, and the Other Professor looked shocked. This quickly turned into barely perceptible anger.

"Why not? I have kept you happy, I've given you gifts. I love you, and I'm far better than your other family could ever hope to be!" Her voice was indignant, and Harry heard a slightly metal grate in it. She seemed to grow taller, before retreating again. Her voice was once again soft and airy as she spoke. "…And what about you Ronnie? Are you staying? I promise it won't hurt." Ron looked indecisive, and Hermione reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze. Harry waited impatiently for his answer.

"I…I'd miss my family. My real family, I don't want to stay here forever, and not see them…" He murmured. The Other Professor scowled, and her features became sharper edged, much more like her real counterpart.

She turned to Harry. "And what about you dear? Don't you want a chance at a real family? I can give you all of that." Harry looked at her, and the Other Headmaster. They were wonderful to him but…they weren't the real thing. Something didn't feel right about leaving his real world. Backing away, Harry slowly shook his head.

"I… I can't leave Ron or Hermione. I need them." The Other Professor frowned.

"But we can make other versions of them! Better versions! I need you here…" Hermione and Ron had barely registered their shock before Harry was yelling for seemingly no reason.

"WHAT? You can't just replace my friends like that, or my family." He ran his hands down his face. "Why don't you understand that? I don't want to stick buttons in my eyes so that I can live here and never see Ron or Hermione again. I am grateful for what you've done, but I'm not leaving my world. I don't want to." Hermione and Ron smiled at this announcement, but soon after there was a very awkward pause.

Unsure of what to do, Ron stepped forward. "So…would you like us to leave now?" At this pronouncement, the Other Professor grew very still, slowly she started to shake. Alarmed, the children rushed forwards to help her, only to notice the Other Headmaster doing the same. As they watched, the skin on the tips of their Professor's heads split cleanly, dropping away to reveal grey steely skin beneath. Before their eyes, the two of them grew and grew until they were towering over the three children.

"Leave? LEAVE? You will never leave me!" The Distorted figure that was their Other Professor shrieked. Her still airy voice contrasted greatly with the terrifying image she now presented. The Other Headmaster joined her when she began advancing on them. Startled, and after being stunned, the three children desperately tried to squirm as they were carried into a strange golden gilded cage.

Upon being deposited in the cage, the three felt their magical restraints break and they immediately leapt for their wands.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Screamed Hermione, pointing her wand resolutely at their Other Professor. Nothing happened. As the other two boys failed at attempting any other spells the Other Professor relaxed slightly and shrunk back into her loving Professor form.

"Now Darlings, don't tire yourselves out, magic will not work in there. There is no way for you to get out now, and when you realise the error of your ways and apologise we will let you out, and then you can play with the new gifts we've given you!" Producing a pair of gleaming broomsticks and a brand new book, she placed them in plain view. "No arguments. Now, I'm going to give you some time to think about your decision, after all we do have lots, and then you can decide." The Other Professor left, but the Headmaster stayed behind, looking them over with his button eyes.

"I am very disappointed. Do you realise how much your mother has done for you? How much she has given up? And you want to leave us. Well, I shall tell you now that that is not going to happen, the button eyes will be sewn one way or another my little ones. It is your decision to make it either a struggle, or relatively easy. You have an hour to decide, and then I suggest you apologise to your new, better mother." He looked over their glaring faces, and retreated after Ron's cutting remark that said they weren't really his family and never would be.

Alone in their cage, the children felt their spirits drop. Hermione slowly touched her eyes. "I don't want to have the buttons." She whispered, turning to both Harry and Ron. "She's not really going to do it is she?" The tears were now dripping hotly down her face, and the two boys gathered her in a hug.

"We'll be alright. It's alright." Ron cooed.

"Don't worry Hermione; we're going to get out of here." Harry stated firmly, wishing he could believe his own words.

Slowly the three drifted off into a disturbed sleep, huddling together and hoping that somehow they would be saved.


	6. Rescuing the Fooled

_Sorry for the wait._

The night passed by agonisingly slowly. Finally the three drifted off into a somewhat restless sleep but it was only a few hours later that Ron awoke again, his stomach growling like a dog. The freckled boy turned over, looking for his half eaten chocolate frog from the day before, only to have his hand slap into someone else's face.

"OW!"

The sound confirmed the face to be Harry's, and Ron bolted up, confused. "Harry, what are you doing in my bed?" There was a small pause as Harry groaned, and Ron took in the golden bars around him. "…Where is my bed?"

"Ron, don't you remember anything?" A small voice asked, and Hermione emerged from behind Harry looking haggard. Her hair was all over the place, and her eyes looked very dark, it was clear she hadn't slept a wink. Ron looked from her to Harry, and back again before he slowly remembered everything.

"But…We're still here! Why?" Simultaneously both Harry and Ron looked at their female friend, who shrugged in confusion.

"Maybe the Other Professor has found another way to keep us here indefinitely?" She whispered, a worried look marring her features.

"Impossible! She'd have done that the moment we were here, if she could." Ron stated.

"Maybe it's just temporary then…" Harry said uncertainly.

"But then why didn't she use it to keep us here before? And why does she need the buttons?" Hermione asked. The other two shrugged, and Ron opened his mouth slowly before a loud crash made the three jump, and scatter away from the bars of the cage.

"What was that?" Harry asked, creeping closer to the bars to get a better look around. Ron and Hermione dragged him backwards before answering carefully.

"It sounded like…something smashing?" Hermione spoke quietly. They looked at one another, confused, before Ron spoke aloud the first question that had been in their minds.

"So how long have we been here?" He asked uncertainly.

"I'd say in the normal world it's around noon, but I can't be sure Ron. Time may work differently here after all. Who knows what the Other Professor controls here." Hermione replied sadly. A few moments passed in silence.

No answered the unasked question. Was anyone looking for them? Or had they been forgotten? Another crash resounded around their cage and as one the three looked to the top of the staircase where the last sound had appeared.

~~~/~~~

*BANG*

Minerva snarled as the strange skeletal creature continued to attack her ferociously, and sent back a barrage of spells in her defence. "What do you want?" She screamed in frustration, having done nothing in her knowledge to upset the monster. Cackling loudly, the metallic being brought itself to it's full height and towered over her, waving a wand menacingly.

"I want what is yours, what should be mine!" The thing's voice sounded like grating metal, and Minerva gritted her teeth in pain. A strange sense of foreboding came over her at the monster's words.

"What do you mean?" She demanded.

"The children! I want my children!" the being snarled viciously, and fear bubbled up inside Minerva as realisation hit her.

Her children…. Her students.

"Where is Mr Longbottom? Where is my student?" The righteous fury that followed caused Minerva to double each of her spell's power, forcing her opponent backwards. The creature howled in fury and it dove down to attack again, waving a metallic wand darkly in her direction.

Swiftly Minerva drew up her defences again to combat the creature, sure now that it was responsible for the disappearance of her student. "They are MINE! MINE!" The thing shrieked, and the esteemed Professor's heart dropped.

"They?" She whispered, diving aside the next instant to avoid some hurling knives. "Who else do you have?" She roared. In reply the strange beast just cackled and Minerva found herself cursing for the first time in years as she battled ferociously. Hedwig soared alongside her, screeching her worry. _'Hedwig… Harry's owl. Oh, those three!'_ The Gryffindor head of house's eyes widened and she frantically looked around for any signs of the children. Within moments it became clear from the five dishes set out that her newest 'friend' had recently had guests. Three opened boxes also lay strewn about the room, with streams of thread rolling out. Minerva treaded back to look through the doorway to another room, when her foot stepped on…a button? She glanced at the furious beast in front of her, focusing on the strange creature's emerald button eyes and her brow twisted in confusion.

"She needs the buttons to keep them here!" The soft voice of Hedwig broke her thoughts. Realising the danger, Minerva aimed her wand at the creature's own button eyes and let lose a reductor curse so powerful she, along with the creature, was sent tumbling backwards into another room.

With her head spinning wildly, Minerva turned and fled even as she registered the agonised cries of the monster behind her screaming as Hedwig continued her attack. Grateful for the time given to her, Minerva scurried through the large house frantically searching for any sign of her lost students. Her brief exploration before her attacker had shown up gave her limited knowledge of the school, for at first Hedwig had taken her through the gardens in an attempt to find the children there, before they had turned inwards to the school itself.

A few moments into her exploration of the house, Minerva had then encountered a strange mouse, which led her to the metal monster, already shaking with anger.

So as Minerva searched the rooms for the children, her heart began to sink as she realised that this endeavour would be rather like trying to find a needle in a large, concrete haystack.

To make matters worse, as Minerva began moving again the whole castle shook beneath her feet, making her unsteady. Swiftly she transformed into her animagus form and resumed her search.

Then it hit her. The scents of vanilla, parchment and grass floating about the corridor. _'Those three…'_ Minerva automatically set off following the scent, leading her winding about many rooms until she reached a door she hadn't opened yet. The brass handle seemed to taunt her. _You won't find them._ It said, but Minerva scowled and turned the key, opening the door wide to see a long staircase riddled with holes. Squaring her shoulders Minerva stepped forward, trying to keep herself calm as she descended the stairs into the unknown.

~~~/~~~

The sound of a large door slowly creaking made the three young children wince. They waited silently as the clipped footsteps came closer, muscles tensed in reluctant anticipation, and when the gate to their cage swung open, all three launched themselves at the offending intruder. The tall figure was then knocked to the floor as Harry called the other two to restrain them.

"Ooomph!" Harry went to grab the person's wrist when he suddenly noticed who it was they were attacking.

"Professor?" He cried, before examining her eyes intently.

"I can assure you Mr Potter it is I." Replied the Professor in a shakier version of her tart tone. The three Gryffindors then scrambled to climb off of their head of house and help her up. Briskly, she climbed to her feet and cast a piercing eye over them. "Are you three uninjured?" She spoke quickly, only a small frown betraying her concern.

Hermione shook her head. "She didn't hurt us much Professor."

"Good. I shall leave the required explanation of all of this for later; now hurry, we must find a way to leave this place." Nodding their agreement, the three followed their Professor up the winding stairs and through the halls they now knew so well. "I am sure that there is another exit to this place, or perhaps a spell…" The elder woman continued muttering under her breath.

The sounds of shrieks and crashes could still be heard about the house as Hedwig battled the Other Professor. In response, the elder woman quickened her pace, mentally evaluating her vocabulary of spells. The three children followed her in concern, eyes darting about warily for any signs of the Other Staff. Hermione wracked her brains, trying to help the Professor, and Harry listened eagerly to make sure that the Other Professor was nowhere near them. Ron stood, unsure of what to do when an idea hit him.

"Wait! Professor, we can go through the little door we came here through, I have the key!" Ron turned around. "It's close to here, follow me!" And without another thought he charged off to the left, leaving the three other members of the escape party to follow him.

As they crashed into the now familiar office of their other Professor, the three children heard the tell-tale clanking of the other Head's metal form scraping through the halls. "Hurry!" Hermione screamed as Ron fumbled with the key to the tunnel.

"It's not working!" He shouted, and Harry pushed him aside and twisted the key.

"Go through, now!" Minerva ordered as soon as the door was open and the three children immediately began scrambling through. The tunnel that had previously been so short now seemed impossibly long.

"Keep going Hermione!" Harry ordered from the back as Hermione stopped.

"Harry…the walls, they're growing spikes!" She replied, moving with even more vigour.

"Hurry then!" Ron urged her. "I don't fancy an early death!"

~~~/~~~

Meanwhile, back at the entrance of the tunnel, Minerva saw Hedwig safely disappear before the button less remains of the monster crawled through the doorway, destroying everything as it went. "My children! I won't let you take my children!" it howled, then seemed to change tactics. "Come back my darlings!" Her honeyed tones identical to her own made Minerva wince as she ducked a stray claw from the monster and hurried herself into the tunnel as quietly as she could.

She had just managed to squeeze her entire body into the entrance when a sharp prod in her thigh made her hiss. Metal grated as the monster realised where she was and Minerva tried even harder to work her way through the tunnel with even more speed. Tears began to sting her eyes as hooks snared her skin and clothes, trying to keep her in place through the tunnel.

Minerva strained to keep going as she reached the end of the tunnel, when a cold claw-like hand gripped her ankle. She gasped as she was dragged backwards, stretching out her hands to grab anything, clawing at the ground around her and kicking backwards n protest. With her wand at her side there was little she could do magically to help her, and in grim resolution, Minerva called the children outside to lock the door before the monster behind her could escape and shut her eyes, gathered her strength, and prepared to go out fighting.

A sudden green illumination surprised Minerva as she felt the monster's grip slacken, and a small voice cry out "Stupify!" Gathering her wits, Minerva kicked the weakening hand out of her way and crawled swiftly the last few metres of the tunnel, before unceremoniously falling on the floor and slamming the door closed.

"Ronald, will you please lock the door?" She swallowed, then waited impatiently for him to finish before ushering the children through the school and back into her office.

As she closed the door, the children turned to each other in dread.

"If you'd like to take a seat. Would anyone like a cup of tea?" Her voice was calm, and this unnerved the three children as they shook their heads. Their professor then left the room and returned later with a plate of ginger newts, a cup of tea, and three pumpkin juices in her hand. Setting them down on a table she eyed the three tired looking children before imperiously telling them to 'eat.'

The children obeyed still on edge, but slowly relaxed as their Professor began questioning them.

"Who was the being I encountered?"

"..Uh we're not sure." Ron replied.

"She referred to herself as our 'Other Head of House' along with the 'Other staff'." Hermione supplied.

"What is she?"

"We don't know, when she's happy she looks like you except she has green buttons for eyes." Harry explained whilst nibbling on his biscuit.

"Are you aware of any other visitors to that place?" At this question, the older Gryffindor looked anxious.

Ron frowned. "No…But the Other head was always encouraging us to 'bring friends along' when we visited, but we….we didn't really want to share the secret." He looked down.

Minerva's eyes narrowed in consideration. "Is it possible that Mr Longbottom may have followed you into her home?"

The three thought silently. "It may be possible, we don't usually lock the door…Oh!"

"Neville was there the night he disappeared! In the common room, he must have followed us in!"

"Are you sure?" Minerva pressed, hoping they were wrong.

"I don't think so."

Gathering herself, Minerva thought carefully about her options before staring at the three carefully. "Unfortunately the headmaster is tonight unavailable, and time is of the essence. I shall need to know everything you can tell me about this…Other Professor. Immediately." Her lips curled in distaste as she spoke the name.

Harry exchanged quick glances with his two best friends. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to retrieve my student."

_So where was the other headmaster during all of this? :O  
><em> 


	7. Playing the Game

_Well I ended up deciding I would finish this story first, because it was easier to write, so lucky you guys- more chapters sooner! :) But in the whole scale of things not that much…_

CLANG

Neville let out another terrified squeak as the metallic fist slammed into a nearby wall, and scrambled backwards as quickly as he could. "I don't know! I'm telling you, I don't know!" He practically sobbed into the floor.

Disgusted, the metallic form of the Other Headmaster stepped back. "You must know. You knew of us, how did you find out?" As he gazed coldly at the young boy his face resembled nothing of his kinder counterpart. Gone were the twinkling buttons that normally adorned his face, they were now replaced with similar versions of icy blue that reflected the calculating mind that lay beneath them. "Come now Neville, we can't keep your Other Professor waiting can we?" Neville's face twisted as he tried not to show his annoyance, and in response the Other Headmaster leaned in closer, whispering into his ear. "I can assure you little one, if she returns and you have still revealed nothing she will be very displeased. And you do not wish to know what happens to naughty children, do you?"

Neville began shaking uncontrollably, but lifted his chin. He had been put in Gryffindor for a reason, and he wouldn't betray his friends. "I don't know."

~~~/~~~

"They have **what**?"

Minerva scowled, annoyed at their disbelief, and glanced at the clock again before repeating her earlier statement.

"He has been taken to another dimension, where similar versions of ourselves prey upon children such as they, presumably for either nourishment or through a sense of cruelty." The staff in the room around her yet again exchanged glances.

"…'Such as they?' What does that mean Minerva?" Flitwick enquired. Minerva looked saddened for a moment, before answering him plainly.

"From what I have gathered, it is children who feel unwanted, or unloved." As expected, the staff raised their eyebrows but thankfully commented no further.

"And how do we intend to help Mr Longbottom?" Pomona hesitantly asked. Pleased with their faith, Minerva gathered them around and set out a pile of notes on a nearby table.

"From what I have gathered, and that is very little, we have but one opportunity to cross into this 'other' dimension again. At a precise time every night, the gateway **must** open. The monster there controls it at every other point in time, and could send us anywhere she chooses. What I intend to do, is to rescue Mr Longbottom, before sealing the area around the corridor with a fidelius charm so that no student shall ever stumble upon it again. That would be where I would require your help Filius. The rest of you I will need to accompany me into the monster's lair, lest she summon her 'Other Staff' to help her. Argus, you of course will stay behind to mind the children, and alert Albus of our plight. I should imagine he'll be very interested once he returns." He finished dryly.

There was a moment of silence, and Minerva turned her head, suddenly nervous that her colleagues and friends would brush off her concerns, claiming she was silly.

"…Well. I suppose we'd better get started then, hadn't we?" Severus drawled. "Merlin knows we're all doomed to a slow death if Augusta doesn't get her grandson back."

~~~/~~~

"Hurry up Hermione!" Harry called.

"I'm trying! There's only me, and this library is huge!" She replied, teetering on the edge of a chair in order to reach a pile of books. "I just need a few more moments to find that book…."

Ron strolled into the room, a pile of their clothes in his arms, as well as a few books Hermione had retrieved from their dorm. "What I want to know is why you didn't finish the bloody book in the first place- could've saved us a load of trouble if you did."

"Well, I didn't consider it that important then Ronald." Hermione replied rather crossly. "By that time, we had already decided to trust her, so I thought I could just ask any questions I had. I wasn't aware that she would turn into a physcopath and try to poke our eyes out." The children winced.

"So what is supposed to be in this book then?" Harry asked; keen to break the icy silence that had briefly fallen.

"Well," The thick book slammed onto the table. "What I gathered was that it is a book written solely about her kind- the 'Beldams'- of course it's supposedly myth, but that's obviously not true." She began leafing through the thick tome, with her eyes flitting across the page faster than both boys could follow.

Just when Harry was about to interrupt, she let out a sigh of relief. "I've found something!" Both boys eagerly peered around her shoulders so that they could read.

"The Beldam is a creature of malevolence; she feeds of off the magic of powerful young witches and wizards- posing as a loving figure. Once her 'children' are used up, she may spit them back into the magical world as squibs, or else fully consume their flesh and morph them into a new beldam child. Not much is known about the weaknesses of Beldams, not even how to kill one. But the main source of their power seems to be the button eyes that are present in each and every one. In addition to this, the Beldam are especially susceptible to trickery in the form of a game, any beldam challenged cannot help but accept."

Ron cheered. "Well that's it then, we'll challenge her to a game- if we win, we can go free with Neville!"

Hermione frowned. "But if we lose-"

"How can we? We've got the youngest seeker of the century, the best witch in our year… and well, me. Anyway, we're sure to win!" He replied enthusiastically.

Harry opened his mouth to speak, when the doors to the library opened and the sound of clipped footsteps were heard.

"Did you find anything?" The elder Professor's voice was unmistakeably worried, and the three children hastened to tell her everything. "Well, that is most useful, well done." The three children beamed. "Now, I will inform your older brother, Mr Weasley of your whereabouts, please return to the common room and I shall meet you there with Mr Longbottom." Their faces immediately dropped.

"But Professor-" Harry stopped at her glare.

~~~/~~~

"She can't be serious, making us stay here after all of that?" Ron proclaimed loudly. Hermione looked sombre.

"I think she was Ron." They started to trail back toward the common room, when Harry called them back."

"Look, I don't know about the two of you, but I'm going to get Neville. It's our fault he's in there, and it's us who know how to get around that place. You said so yourself Ron, we can do this, and they need all the help they can get!" He looked squarely at the two, unsure whether they would agree, but felt pleasantly warm when they both nodded.

"You're right Harry. I just hope we know enough spells to counter whatever that witch thinks of…" She bowed her head in thought, still muttering even as Ron shoved her clothes in her hands and made a dash for the bathroom.

~~~/~~~

A sense of dread overwhelmed Minerva as she turned the corner of the narrow corridor. However, she didn't slow her stride even as she withdrew the rusty key from her robes, and opened the tiny door.

"But why can't we just get in how you did before Minerva?" Hooch asked.

"Because one can only access that passage in dire circumstances, with a familiar owl, and from there, this is the only way back." She replied, turning. "Right. Now, we shall all need to go through, Mr Filch, after we have entered please lock the door so that none may come through. After one hour, we will knock on the door like so," She briefly tapped four times on the wood "and you shall again open the door."

"Quickly, if you please." Septima added, looking rather nervous. After patting her shoulder comfortingly, Minerva stooped as low as she could, before crawling back through the tunnel, unsure of what she would find.

~~~/~~~

"Hermione? Are you ready?" Ron whispered. All three were now gathered a few corridors away from the door, preparing to follow their teachers.

"Yes, alright." She appeared next to the boys, cloak in hand. "They're going in, but Filch has got the key." Harry frowned.

"How are we going to get it then?" At this, Ron's lips curled into a knowing smirk.

"Leave it to me. You don't grow up with Fred and George without leaning some things…" He took the cloak from Hermione before disappearing around the corner. Harry and Hermione listened curiously as a few bangs were heard, followed by some shrieks and running footsteps as Ron reappeared with the key in hand. "Told you." He smirked.

At once, Harry drew the cloak around the three of them, pleased to find that it fit, and they set off for the little door.

~~~/~~~

The room was eerily quiet as Minerva and her staff stepped through. All was silent, and the monster appeared to be absent. "…Minerva?" Filius whispered, then jumped back alarmed as a voice answered him.

"Who are you?" The taller form of the Other Professor emerged from a dark crevice. "What do you want here?" She frowned as her eyes found her counterpart, and her voice hissed. "You! Child-stealer!" As her body stepped into the light, the staff gasped at her resemblance to the deputy head.

Minerva drew herself to her full height. "I have come for my student."

The Other Professor ignored her words as her eyes swept over the staff. "You brought friends. I have friends too you know. Or didn't they tell you?" As she spoke, more lookalikes appeared behind her, seeming to spill from all of the dark corners of the room. "Where are my children Minerva? I can feel that they're near. I do so miss them…" Her voice was sickly sweet again, and she pouted sadly.

"I know what you do to your 'children' Beldam. You shall never touch them again, now I shall ask one more time- **where** is my student?" The Other Professor hissed and withdrew, laughing as the distorted staff behind her attacked.

"Not yet, not yet. We haven't all the players." Letting out a frustrated growl, Minerva turned to check that her staff were okay before she followed the Beldam into the corner, her vision and sight blacking out even as she heard Neville's terrified cries.

~~~/~~~

Crawling through the tunnel felt surreal to Harry, as before he had felt an excitement at seeing his Other Professor, and now he felt only a certain dread. After locking the door from the inside behind them, the three had continued down what now was a much shorter tunnel into the monster's office. The quiet serenity they were used to, was now replaced by vibrating walls and the sound of a fierce battle.

"Oh my…" Hermione gasped, as The Hufflepuff head of house came into view, battling a monstrous plant version of herself. "We need to find Professor McGonagall!"

"But she could be anywhere!" Ron cried.

"No. She'll be with the Beldam, we'll find her sooner or later." Harry set off into the corridor, the other two in tow.

What the three saw, shocked and amazed them. It seemed that the Other Professor had created her versions of her staff from things linked to them, so that Madame Hooch was now battling a bizarre broom-stick version of herself with yellow buttons, and Professor Snape was slowly being engulfed by a tar-like thing with pitch black button eyes. At seeing this, Hermione stopped.

"We can't just leave him there!" She pleaded, and with a sigh, Harry briefly changed direction and ordered them to levitate him out.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" The three cried, and set him down next to them. At seeing the three present in the room, their Potion's Professor scowled.

"What are you three doing here? Get out! Now!" He moved to push them back through the door, but was stopped yet again by his Otherworld self.

"Charming, ain't he? We save his life, and not even a thank you." Ron muttered as the three set back off along the corridor.

They continued to stumble along the corridor, helping where they could, and avoiding those that would send them back. Eventually they reached the room where they had been locked up against their will, but were disappointed to find it empty. "What do we do now?" Ron asked.

Hermione looked sad. "Well, I had hoped it wouldn't come to this but….MOTHER! WE KNOW YOU'RE HERE! WHERE ARE YOU?" She stopped and smiled nervously at the boys before the ground beneath their feet collapsed and they were sent hurling downwards into oblivion.

~~~/~~~

"Ne-Mr Longbottom!" Minerva called out, relieved to see her student alive, and with his eyes intact.

"….No!" Neville scrambled backwards.

"Mr Longbottom, it is I!" She reached out to grab his shoulder, pulling him forward before she examined him thoroughly. "Oh goodness…" Her hand touched her heart before she started to heal his wounds.

"P-Professor?" Neville whispered. He looked at her eyes closely before relaxing slightly. "Wait Professor, it's a trap she doesn-"

"Be quiet child, and let your elders speak." Neville was knocked back into the wall. As he got up, he tried to speak, but found himself mute. "That's better. Now Minerva, I believe you and I need to have a little chat."

"If you touch a hair-" She was interrupted.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that boy, his magical core is still far too weak to be of any use to me. No, it's your favourites that you need to worry about." Minerva opened her mouth to protest. "Don't lie to me. I know you better than you know yourself. After all, I've been you, and countless others, I have accumulated a rather good knack for it." Minerva frowned.

"There has never been another case like this repo-"

"Of course there hasn't. I either erase the child's memories of myself, or make other's forget. The magic is quite simple really, when the child isn't wanted." Minerva's eyes narrowed. "You even know one of my children, Argus, don't you? Of course, I found him before I moved into this blessed school, so now he is just one of many. I can access any known magical home in England here, and drain any child I wish." The Beldam's voice was triumphant. "I'm all-powerful. Unstoppable. Don't you see how it would just be easier to simply give me the children? They are so darling; I'll quite enjoy their company. I may even keep one or two." At these words, Minerva was roused from her daze.

"You will do no such thing! I will not permit it!" The Other Professor's eyebrow rose.

"Oh? Well we'll see…" She stepped back as three figures fell from above her. Minerva's heart sank as she recognised the three.

"Beldam, we want to-" Ron started, but then stopped as she leaned closer to him.

"Hush now darlings, I think we'll play a game."

_Many thanks to Hermionewiz for STILL Beta-ing this, even though I've not updated in ages. :)_


	8. Cheating the Cheat

_Where has my holiday gone! Thanks again to Hermionewiz27, check her stories out! :)_

As Ron backed away from her menacing lookalike, Minerva stepped forward to gather the four children within her reach.

"What game would you propose?" She eyed the Beldam suspiciously; very aware that for the monster herself to propose a game suggested that she was very practiced in it.

In response the Beldam laughed airily. "Oh just a game like any other. Your task is simply to each recover and retrieve these…" With a crooked grin, she waved her hand and brandished four familiar looking wands.

Shocked, Minerva looked to her own, only to find a poor copy. How had she not noticed?

"…It'll be simple really, of course you won't be allowed any outside help, and any cheating will result in myself automatically winning." Minerva narrowed her eyes, aware that she was being backed rather skilfully into a corner.

"And the game?" The Beldam smiled rather crookedly.

"I knew you'd agree eventually. They always do." She twirled around on the spot and moved closer to the group. "The game is simple. There are four rounds, as only four of you will play; I'm sure dear Neville is in no fit state to compete." Minerva almost growled, and the Beldam grinned. "Each round a player will have the task of retrieving their wand from somewhere inside this school. I of course shall attempt to stop them, and if I am able to, I will win that person. The final round will be played for Neville's freedom, however you will all play, and if you should loose, I shall keep all of you." Her teeth suddenly appeared shiny again, and she grew subtly larger.

"And if we refuse?" Minerva enquired.

The Beldam laughed.

"My dear, you know you have no choice." Minerva glared, it seemed this woman knew exactly how to annoy her, and she inwardly hoped that that was all she knew about her.

"Now. Who would like to play first?" The sentence merely hung in the air for a few moments as each player contemplated the question. Minerva opened her mouth to answer, but was beaten to it by a fraction.

"I-"

"I'll do it." Harry pushed his glasses up his nose, and ruffled his hands through his hair in a way reminiscent of James. And like James, he had managed to leave Minerva speechless. She stared at him in shock for a moment before choking out a reply.

"Potter! Y-you can't, you do not know what you are facing!" Harry stared at her, his face solemn.

"Someone's got to go first Professor, and it's my fault we're here." Minerva blanched.

"No. I absolutely forbid it, I shall be first and you shall wait."

"I think that decision lies with me Minerva. And since Darling Harry asked first…" The Beldam stretched out one claw-like hand. "Come here pet." Harry tentatively walked forwards, and Minerva reached out to him, but found her arm unable to move.

"Potter!" She sounded desperate even to her own ears, and unable to reach Harry, she huddled the other three closer.

As Harry reached the Beldam, she grew before him, outstretching her now metallic hand. Harry glanced backward briefly before drawing a breath and reaching out.

Promptly disappearing from sight.

~~~/~~~

_Tick tock. Tick tock. _

As Harry looked around, he immediately recognised the comforting sound of the School clock, louder than he had ever heard it. The room, however, was unfamiliar to him, and it wasn't until he walked past a tall pillar and saw the scene before him, that he knew why.

He was inside the clock.

As he came to this realisation, the booming voice of the beldam called out to him, causing the walls around him to shake. "Hello Harry dear!" Harry chose not to reply, instead looking about him. Unperturbed, the Beldam continued as if he had been listening intently. "Now I'm sure by now that you have noticed where you are, and soon you'll notice what I have most generously given you." As she said this, Harry spotted a battered broom and some tape. "Your task is to reach the top of the clock, and search for you wand. Happy hunting!" Her tone was cheerful, and Harry found himself looking around as he climbed carefully onto the broom.

"Oh, and I suppose it's only fair to warn you, the plant is rather deadly."

Harry had barely any time to wonder what she meant before the broom beneath his feet started to swoop upwards, driving forward with such force that he had no choice but to simply grip on and try to steer.

As the broom hurtled upwards at a terrifying speed, Harry felt his eyes water beneath his glasses, and he wiped a small tear away, and saw a strange movement out of the corner of his eye. A flash of green flickered across his vision, and then quickly disappeared from sight.

Whipping his head around to get a better look only caused Harry to miss another flash, this time darting even closer to the boom and causing him to panic slightly. He looked around the space, eyeing every blur but seeing nothing. As he started to relax another flash swept past his vision, and jolted his broom sharply.

Only just managing to hold on, Harry let out a startled yell and gripped the handles as hard as he could. As the broom continued to swerve upwards, Harry again saw what he now recognised as a giant plant leaf arch through the air towards him. He yanked the handle instantly, but barely managed to avoid crashing into it.

Panting heavily, Harry kept an eye out for any further obstacles as the broom continued to hurtle upwards at an alarming rate. But try as he might, he could find no way to slow the broom down, and it seemed that the Beldam merely expected him to dodge every obstacle in his way at breakneck speed.

Soon he seemed to be dodging plant leaves every ten seconds, and Harry struggled to turn the broom. But, he soon found out that getting hit was not an option as the plant scraped the side of his cheek, leaving a long cut in its wake. Hissing in pain, Harry tried to ignore the long line of fire across his face, and leaned to the side to avoid further obstacles. As he spun around he saw it.

His wand was perched on the tip of a long bar in the middle of his path, and as he spotted it Harry knew that he'd only have one chance to seize it. His shakily withdrew one hand from the broom, and attempted to force the broom upwards. However he couldn't get it to budge.

"Tick tock Harry dear, remember you only get one chance…" Harry frowned, and made a split second decision.

Crouching on his broom, he slowly started to stand up, well aware that he would have to jump off of the broom; scoop up his wand, and either land on the bar, or the broom. Unless he wanted to drop however many feet it was to the ground.

But that didn't really sound like a good option to him.

He tried to remain low, and pictured himself jumping and landing on the bar. It looked steady enough to hold him. But soon Harry found that keeping his balance was getting increasingly harder. The wind itself seemed to be working against him, and in response he crouched lower and tried to ready himself.

The bar drew closer, and the Beldam started talking again.

"Now Harry, I just wanted to tell you that- oops." He was caught off guard. The broom jolted to the side, taking him away from his wand. Acting on instinct, Harry jumped.

He landed just free of the bar, and instead reached out to grab onto it, monkey style. The wand seemed to be just out of his reach. Harry heard what sounded like triumphant yelling, and barely heard the Beldam grumble. He scrambled across the bar as green tendrils started to emerge from the clockwork, reaching for his wand.

His arms screamed in protest, and his legs were on fire. He looked down and saw to stems wrapped around his ankles, pulling him backwards.

Kicking and flailing, Harry reached out for his wand just as his other hand gave way…

And suddenly found himself back in the dark room, wand in hand.

~~~/~~~

"Harry!" All formalities were discarded as Minerva lunged for him, wrapping him up and thoroughly looking him over. "Don't you ever dare- you may have been- why I just-!" Finally she gave up and gripped his hand. Pulling herself together she simply said. "I am relieved that you are alive Harry. Should you ever do such a thing again I will restrain you and spoon feed you for the rest of your education."

Harry smiled, but suddenly felt a stinging sensation on his cheek, and looking down at himself, saw that in the process of retrieving his wand he had been covered in a variety of deep scratches. Staring somewhat in awe at the blood dripping down his arms, Harry looked over to his two best friends, who instantly enveloped him in a hug.

Hermione turned to the Beldam. "Heal him. Please." She pleaded. The Beldam merely laughed airily.

"Why ever would I do that? We still have a game to finish my darling, and that would be cheating." She winked as Ron scowled and Hermione teared up.

Harry pulled away. "I'll be fine. Don't worry." He looked squarely at the Beldam and asked her who was next.

She took her time, surveying them all and sizing them up. No doubt savouring the injuries being caused upstairs in the thick of the battle too. "Ronnie, would you like to take a chance?" She finally answered.

Knowing full well that he had no choice, Ron stepped forward and glared. He reached out to take her hand, determined to get his wand back in no time.

~~~/~~~

The disjointed feeling of apparition was something Ron hadn't expected. Shaking himself off, he tried to take in his surroundings as quickly as possible. Looking down, he felt a happy grin on his face as he saw black and white squares in a regular pattern.

Chess. He could do chess. But even as he grinned, the Beldam's voice spoke up, clearly amused.

"Oh no no no, Ronnie. Real life isn't that easy. You don't always know the rules of a game before you start playing it. That's something you have to figure out as you go along." The voice of the Beldam caused him to look up, and to his surprise there were no chess pieces in sight. Only round disks on every other square.

His stomach dropped a little.

"The game is called draughts darling, I doubt you've heard of it. It is a muggle game, rather ingenious actually, and in order to receive your wand you must win. Good luck dear." Inwardly Ron cursed. How was he supposed to win a game where he didn't even know the rules?

He was interrupted in his thoughts by a piece from opposite him moving forwards diagonally. Ron frowned, and looked at the pieces again. They were all the same, with no markings which meant that they would probably move in the same way.

Which now appeared to be diagonally. He briefly signalled to the piece nearest to him, and tried to move it forward. It didn't budge. Instead, he moved it diagonally to the left, across from the other piece and waited to see what would happen next.

The nearest piece across from his immediately jumped over diagonally and landed the other side, forcing Ron to dive to avoid being crushed. Ron scowled as his piece disappeared. Obviously he couldn't let his pieces be jumped over…maybe.

From then on, Ron proceeded with caution, very careful not to let any of the other pieces near his. He assumed he had to 'take' all of his opponent's pieces without losing his to win, and it appeared to him that none of his pieces were allowed to move backwards in any way. However, he soon got a shock when halfway through the game a piece reached the other end of his board and started moving again.

He rubbed his eyes in frustration. He had to do this, because losing wasn't an option.

The young red-head looked at his pieces and tried to predict how the other 'player' would move next. There was always a pattern with these things, and he could exploit that. It was like chess, you had to plan ahead.

Suddenly it clicked in his head. Essentially these games were the same, he would just have to play it the way he did with chess. Returning to the game with renewed vigour, Ron started to put his whole head into it. Soon the pieces started disappearing from the board, both his and the other player's, but as he drew nearer to the end of the game Ron smiled, confident in his abilities. With a triumphant smirk he took the last piece, and smiled as his wand appeared in the centre of his board. He started to walk towards it, when he heard a low snarling coming from the edges of the board, and alarmed, he looked around the see that the edges were all crumbling inwards.

He ran. Even when his muscles screamed and protested Ron sprinted towards his wand, and lunged for it, just managing to grasp the edges before he fell into oblivion.

~~~/~~~

"Well, I do believe this will be much more interesting than usual. No one usually makes it past the second round." The Beldam winked, and rolled Ron over to the side. She stroked his hair before standing up again. "I must admit hadn't really thought you would succeed Ronnie. But onto the next round!" She giggled, and twirled, her hand landing on the smallest girl in the room. "Hermione darling, your turn sweetie."

Hermione let out a small squeak and grabbed Harry's arm. She turned and looked at Minerva, worried about her task and looking for reassurance. Minerva smiled as encouragingly as she could. "I have absolute faith in you Miss Granger." When both Ron and Harry showed their support and told her that she would find it easy, Hermione stepped forward and took the Beldam's hand, wary of whatever her task would be.

~~~/~~~

The first thing she noticed about the room was that it was blank, and seemed to be merely a bend in a road. The walls were white, as was the floor, and there was not a mark to be seen anywhere. Cautiously, Hermione moved around the bend in the road to find the exact same path across from it.

"Hermione sweetie, glad you're still with us. Well, no doubt you'll figure this out soon, have fun my dear- and remember you have an hour to find your wand!" Offering no more explanation, the Beldam's voice remained silent. A simple timer appeared in the right-hand corner of the room, and immediately started counting down.

Hermione felt rather unsettled, but seeing Ron and Harry go before her had given her a solid resolve. Striding along to the next room, she went to cross again, only to hit an invisible barrier, and a voice boomed out ward. "Pass only once you have answered correctly." Hermione balked. Swooping down from the ceiling was a huge lioness, with the wings of an eagle and head of a woman. A sphinx. "Answer my riddle child, and you shall pass. Fail and stay here for the remainder of your time." Hermione frowned, and nodded to show her understanding.

The sphinx opened it's massive wings and roared before speaking in a mono-tone voice that sent shivers down her spine.

"_My author's uncertain yet my title's the same, I contain random text yet order's my aim. Read me one day and see my pages are totally bare. Try again another day and the words will be there. I'm not a book of magic although it may sound, I can predict the future, and inside, your life can be found. What am I?"_

Hermione frowned, and had the riddle repeated, this time listening even more intently. Suddenly she gasped and clapped her hands before looking solemnly at the giant creature. "Is it….a diary?" The sphinx stared at her with its huge eyes before bending low and breathing on her face, a mark of respect.

"It is child. Diaries after all are perfect for collecting oneself in a number of pages." The sphinx stated before vanishing in a burst of fire.

Hermione didn't stop to contemplate the sphinx's words as she raced forward to the next obstacle, her heart already hammering in her ears again.

~~~/~~~

The Beldam hissed, she hadn't expected Hermione to solve the riddle that quickly.

Obviously she had been wrong when she had thought the brat would panic… Rattling her brains, the Other head rapidly thought of another plan.

Perhaps she would if she took the girl out of her comfort zone… The Beldam smiled eerily. That would be perfect.

~~~/~~~

Hermione beamed and looked at the ever present clock, ten minutes had passed and already she had been through five obstacles which tested her mental abilities. Surprisingly, once she had calmed down and thought them all through, Hermione had found them rather easy and passed onto the next obstacle within a few minutes.

However as she crossed to the next room, her stomach dropped slightly at the disappearance of any door. There was only a single rope hanging from the ceiling. But as Hermione looked up, she realised that it was not in fact, attached to the ceiling, but seemed to be attached a few metres above a hole to the next floor. Looking around, Hermione realised with some dread that she would be expected to climb the rope to the next room.

'_Why that...'_

Hermione knew full well that she wasn't the most athletic person; in fact, this had been the thing she had dreaded doing every week in her p.e lessons. Gripping the rope, Hermione took a moment to try and convince herself she could do it before she started to pull up. Halfway up the rope, and her muscles were screaming in protest for her to just give up. Exhausted, Hermione gritted her teeth and gripped the rope above her, only for her hands to slip a few inches. Burning from the friction, Hermione took a moment to breathe slowly.

Her eyes started to tear up, and frustrated with herself, Hermione let out a small keen.

"Hermione dear, you know that I'm here for you…" The voice of the Beldam caused her to look up, but not let go. "Sweetie, I can stop it, all you have to do is let go, and we can b-" As suddenly as the voice had started, it disappeared to be replaced by another, more familiar one.

"Miss Granger, do not lose hope, I have every confidence in you."

"Yeah Hermione, you show her!"

"Com'on Hermione!"

There were a few more moments of scuffling when the Beldam's voice returned sounding rattled. "Hermione, Hermione dear why don't you give up…"

But Hermione was no longer listening to the Beldam, instead she concentrated on the voices of the people she knew were counting on her, and slowly but surely began to ascend the rope again. Each inch set her limbs on fire, yet Hermione continued as she had seen Harry and Ron do, determined not to let them down.

As soon as the arduous task had been completed Hermione slumped to the floor, her chest heaving and muscles aching. After a few moments of rest, she started to pull herself off of the floor, and froze when she saw her wand.

Perched atop a column, all that lay between her and her wand was a mere 300 meters of ground covered with the hardest array of obstacles she could ever imagine.

Hermione groaned, and glanced at the clock. She now had barely 20 minutes to complete the whole course! With the aspect on time on her mind, she stood up and glanced at the 100m swim that she'd have to complete, thankful that she could at least do that relatively easily.

The cool of the water against her skin as refreshing, especially on her hands as she backstroked the length of the pool and heaved herself out of it in no time. Feeling slightly more optimistic, Hermione continued on towards her second to last obstacle with the fierce determination that her house was normally characterised for.

At first glance the long planks seemed rather easy to cross, but it was with trepidation that Hermione stepped onto the first, and eyed the churning waters below, looking for a way back up. There was none.

It seemed that falling now would not be forgiven. Taking her first step, Hermione swerved to the left and let out a screech of surprise. She knelt down low, and turned her head to examine the planks more closely.

Each balanced on a thin bar a few centimetres wide, and appeared to be hinged so that any pressure on each side could send her falling over the edge. Hermione gulped. Balance had never been her strongest point, and there was a reason she always avoided broomsticks.

Nevertheless, seeing she had no choice Hermione weighed her options and gingerly stepped forward. Feeling herself ever so slightly tip to the left, she leaned slightly to the right and crouched even lower.

Even inch she crawled forward left wincing; scared she would lose her balance and tumble into the waters below. Even the slightest movement of a plank would cause her to stop and hold her breath, and each partition crossed took an age to complete.

Finally she reached the end of the last plank and leaped for the solid ground. A quick glance at the clock told her that she now had barely any time to waste. She looked at the top of the column supporting her wand, and then at the small indents along its side. Her hands twitched in anticipation and she groaned.

"I hate climbing." But as she gripped the wall she realised that this may have been harder than she thought. Just as the tunnel for her escape had been covered in sharp thorns, it seemed that the crevices too were covered in the tiny daggers. Hermione was forced to grit her teeth as she pulled herself up, supporting her whole weight with her hands, and begin her ascent.

Each step seemed more excruciating than the last, and before long Hermione heard a loud beeping, like an alarm, in her ear.

"Time's almost up dear!" trilled the Beldam.

Hermione scowled, and renewed her efforts. She was now only a couple of inches away from the top of the column. She neared the top, and reached around the edge to grasp her wand… Only to have a mysterious gust knock it over the edge and to the ground.

She swore, using one of the many words Ron had inadvertently taught her.

The little Gryffindor looked down at the 12ft drop. Attempting it would be dangerous, but she had barely any time to get her wand, with the seconds counting down from thirty now. Determined not to let the Beldam win, she mentally prepared herself for the fall to come, and simply let go.

The impact sent jolts through her spine, and she rolled onto her side, hoping to muffle some of the damage. The blinding pain nearly drove her to distraction as the final ten seconds of the timer counted down, and Hermione was forced to crawl in order to retrieve her wand. Once this was done, she curled up, and bit her lips, trying to get herself under control. Small whimpers escaped from her lips, as her ankle throbbed, and Hermione cried out and lay still, trying not to agitate her wound. As an afterthought, she gripped her wand and tried to remember any spell she could which would dull the pain.

The swirling sensation stopped her as she was yet again thrown into darkness.

"Ahh!" The impact of the ground caused her more pain than normal, as her ankle seemed to be on fire. Then all at once, the pain lessened, and her Head of house stood over her holding Harry's wand, muttering frightening things.

"You have been spending too much time around Mr Potter- Cannot believe that you would- Is she trying to kill you?"

She then became aware of Harry and Ron, who helped her to stand, and were muttering excitedly, giving her an account of her time in her task.

"And then you-"

"-But it was amazing-"

"**Boys.**" The stern voice was enough to pull them from their excitement, and Minerva leaned forward. "Do remember that whatever that **thing** says, this is not a game."

All three gulped. Minerva sighed, and assessed her student's injuries. "I cannot heal everything here, as I do not have the necessary equipment, nor do I have the expertise to do it without my wand. You shall have to wait Hermione. I can only hope you won't this will not put you at a disadvantage."

Ron's face darkened, and he opened his mouth in thought. "I think that the 'games' are getting harder as they go professor; that means that…"

"Minerva come along…" The Beldam's voice practically laughed at her as she beckoned her forward. "I do so love it when a game comes to a climax." Her eyes swept over to the children. "I suggest you start thinking of your apologies now children, your father and I were very hurt by your actions, but your punishments will be lessened if you show your regret."

Annoyed with her counterpart, Minerva decided to begin the game before the Beldam could intimidate her students further, and grabbed her claw.

_Riddle gained from and out of interest how many of you got it? :)  
>Minerva's next!<br>Thanks for all of your reviews, they leave me beaming! :D_


	9. Winning the War

_I Own Nothing. Okay I lied. This turned out waaaay too big for one chapter- so you get two! :) _

The disorientating feeling left Minerva clutching her head for a few moments as she landed on a soft luminous green bed of grass. The cackle of the Beldam rang through her ears as she slowly stood up, trying to be as alert as possible. But what she saw puzzled her enough to make the esteemed woman shake her head, trying to make sense of the scene before her.

Sitting still as stone were her four charges in the middle of a huge quidditch pitch. Minerva crept closer in order to get a better look and to her horror saw the four of them encased neck deep in what looked like marble stone, all of them clearly trying not to panic.

"Professor!" Hermione cried as she drew nearer "We can't move!" And all at once the girl started babbling about freezing hexes and charms and how she wasn't sure which had been cast, but that she thought that the Beldam had most certainly-

"_Hermione."_ One word was enough from her teacher to silence the girl. Neville opened his mouth to speak slowly, but only managed a small squeak as the Beldam's voice once again clawed at their ears.

"Minerva, I trust you're sufficiently confused? Good. Listen closely. Your wand is now located somewhere in this area. Go and find it quickly- but make sure no harms comes to my children… or the consequences will be _severe_. And should you not manage to find it in time you will lose this, the final round." The voice echoed menacingly around her.

Minerva's brow furrowed as she studied the huge Quidditch pitch critically, vainly attempting to find her wand without leaving her students alone, but found the task impossible without moving at least a few feet from her wards. Raising her hand and crying out "_Accio wand!"_ proved fruitless as well, and she sighed.

Realising what she would have to do, Minerva scowled and took one last fleeting look at the four children before transforming fluidly and sprinting to the other end of the pitch. She then barely managed to transform back before she heard a wail come from the centre of the pitch, and was forced to turn and run back.

When she arrived, the older witch stopped dead in her tracks as it soon became horrifyingly clear what her charges were screaming at. Trudging across the fields, at a deadly slow place, were hordes of dead button-eyed wizards, malicious intent displayed clearly in their eyes. "Inferi." She cursed, knowing that the demons would be near impossible to stop without her wand, and knowing that she couldn't possibly hope to find her wand before they reached her children. Cursing mentally, she was brought out of her stupor by a cry of delight from Hermione.

"Professor! Y-" But she was cut off with a sharp crack.

"Now, now dear, remember we can't help Minerva, we just get to watch her squirm." The silky tones of the Beldam morphed into loathing as she spoke the name of her counterpart, and she ended the sentence with a cruel chuckle.

Cursing the monster's interference, Minerva looked around her to try and spot what the younger child had seen, but she could not locate her wand anywhere. The pitch was bare, and as were the stands except for the few pieces of Quidditch equipment.

Minerva walked up to the children, and tried to unleash them with her wandless magic, but it seemed that without her wand the Beldam simply out powered her. "If only I could keep you safe…" Neville began to struggle, opening his mouth and repeatedly closing it again in an attempt to communicate. "But maybe I can…" She followed his line of sight, identical to Hermione's and her gaze fell on the quidditch box. "But how?"

She opened the box carefully, to find the usually quidditch equipment contained within. The bludgers furiously tried to escape their capture, almost escaping the ropes that bound them to the box. Minerva jerked backwards as the snitch violently sped inside it's container, and she absently thought that the snitch alone could probably carry her off the pitch.

Then it hit her.

The plan was risky- probably not unlike one of the foolish things the trio had tried themselves- but it would buy her the time she needed to locate her wand. Carefully, she used a simple spell to attach one end of the rope, to the snitch, bludgers and spare snitch before untying them each one by one and cautiously making her way over to the children. She was half dragged by the equipment, as it jerked around unpredictably, and it took her what seemed like ages to tie the first rope around Ron's stone. Then, using her rapidly depleting energy, she applied a feather weight charm and watched satisfied as a screaming Ronald was propelled through the air, and safely out of reach. After repeating the process with the other three, and feeling downright exhausted afterwards, she cast the simplest cushioning charm she could think of, and linked it to the children's magical cores. Satisfied that now they would be out of reach of the inferi, Minerva grabbed the spare broom in the case and took to the air rather unsteadily, whizzing through the stand searching for her wand.

But try as she might, she was unable to find it in the stands. Bringing herself to a stop in the air, Minerva eyed the now swarming inferi below and critically examined the ground. It all seemed too easy, and from what she understood the Beldam should've had more flair when hiding her wand. "But, there doesn't seem to be anything extravagant or noticeable anywhere…"

"PROFESSSSSOOR!" Ron yelled, and his head of house turned around just in time to see him narrowly miss the tallest quidditch post. Then, she spotted it.

"Of course, I've been looking at the ground this whole time!" She briefly took the time to look at the ever present clock, telling her she had little time to grasp her wand and win the game. A wave of pride consumed her as Minerva realised that she would win, and her wards would be safe, all without a wand. A small purr of satisfaction escaped her, and she wasted no time in speeding towards the tip of the goal, where her wand was perched precariously.

Summoning her four students wandlessly, she leaned closer and egged on her broom, eager to end the ordeal and return to her school. What she did not expect however, was the huge gust of wings, as giant shape loomed before her.

"How dare you!" The voice grated, and a scaled claw swiped at her viciously. "_How dare you_ _interfere with my plans_?" Minerva briefly reared back, alarmed as the Beldam, now in the form of a huge button-eyed dragon swiped at her on her broom. "I won't let you win! _I WON'T!_" The dragon let out a torrent of swirling flames, which licked at Minerva's feet as she swerved desperately to avoid them.

'_How can I defeat her without my wand?'_ she thought desperately, knowing that the Beldam out powered her by far without her wand. The lioness's thoughts grew solemn as she tried to think of a way out of her precarious situation, but none came to mind. The only silver lining was that, as of yet, none of her children had fallen into the monster's sickening grasp. She tried to locate the four kids, finding three of them safe and out of reach, but as usual Harry seemed to be pelting headfirst into trouble.

"Potter, are you destined to always give me a heart attack at every new turn?" Minerva muttered as she had to wandlessly stop him from colliding headfirst with the goal post's highest hoop. But the snitch she had attached him to seemed relentless in it's efforts to crush harry against the metal bars where her wand was perched.

It teetered on the edge, and by the skin of it's teeth managed to stay balanced on the tip of the bar. Cursing, Minerva veered her wand over to catch it, but was unable to make any progress against the Beldam's onslaught. '_It wants my wand to slip…' _Minerva realised as she looked at the swarming inferi below. Knowing that if it should, it would be game over for her, Minerva furiously tried to think of a way to get around the Beldam's intentions. But try as she might, it seemed impossible for her to outmanoeuvre the witch, and helping Harry was slowly draining her energy bit by bit.

Then an idea hit her. "Potter, catch!" she yelled in her sternest voice to immediately grasp his attention, and then used her magic to send him smashing into the tip of the post, shattering the right sphere of rock, and freeing his hand to catch her now tumbling wand.

"I have it professor!" he yelled triumphantly, but then instantaneously gulped as the Beldam turned her gaze to him. She reached out to grab the wand from his hands, but was stopped by an invisible barrier.

"It seems there's a limit to your interference in your own game Beldam!" Minerva called. "Harry! My wand!" But the Beldam furiously batted her aside and moved closer to the little boy, her strange button eyes taking on a mesmerising tint.

"Harry dear…." She morphed back to her kinder form slowly, but continued changing as her features grew softer and her buttons eyes turned a lighter green. "I don't understand. Don't you want me?" His heart lurched, and he knew in his heart that this was the 'other form' of his mother.

Harry slowly felt his mind cloud up as his most recent memories faded away, and he recalled all of his treatment at the Dursley's hands. The cruel sneers and fake smiles, the continuous feeling of emptiness and loathing formed a thick barrier in his thoughts, wiping his memories of all else.

Minerva watched with a horrified fascination as the Beldam continued to overpower Harry's thoughts, twisting them like a master of deception in exactly the ways she wanted. As she looked on Harry seemed more and more lost, less and less the brave boy she had come to know, and Minerva briefly wondered if this was what he had been before he came to Hogwarts. She didn't dare to think any further. Her ears perked at a new sound.

"M…mother?" he whispered. The beldam reached out and stroked his cheek.

"Darling. Please give me the wand, so we can be together." Harry frowned, but slowly started to reach out and hand over her wand, but was stopped by a voice.

"Harry." He remained still. "I know that this is what you want; and I know that I have no right to ask you this, or any other thing, but I'm asking you to make a choice anyway. This is false, and it could never be-" the lost little boy scowled and started to move again, and Minerva started again hastily "You have a new family now, a _magical_ family, one who love you very much." Her and was almost in the Beldam's eager hands, and Minerva blurted out the next sentence. "We all love you Harry, Including me! And we can be the family you deserve, not this button-eyed shamble of a woman!" All at once Harry's eyes started to become clearer, and he frowned at his surroundings.

"Professor?" He murmured.

"My wand, Harry!" The boy seemed to wake up and threw the wand over to her, prompting the older witch to urge her broom forward…

Finally feeling her fingertips graze the mahogany of her one true partner, a final sigh of relief escape her lips. "We've won…" she whispered, and looked around her for her wards, who were promptly disappearing along with her, back to the room they had originated from.

~~~/~~~

She wasted no time with celebrations. "Children!" she barked sharply. "Come here, up the steps- quickly! I'll try to heal you as we go along…" As she ushered them further and further up, Minerva risked a glance back, to find the Beldam trembling with shock. The creature looked pathetic as it blinked once, twice, three times, trying to recover from the shock. But as Minerva reached the top, and closed the door resolutely, she made eye contact and watched as the disbelief quickly twisted into shock and fury. Barely managing to shut the door, the shriek of fury was easily heard by all surrounding the door. A moment of pause ensued as all contemplated who had made the inhuman noise, and then the outer battle resumed in all of it's bloodthirsty glory.

Minerva quickly told the children to spread the word of a retreat, and turned to help her colleagues, giving herself over to the rhythm of war once more.

~~~/~~~

The four children sprinted through the corridors of the great castle, shouting to each passing teacher as they went, determined to at least do their part to help their head of house before she ordered them out.

Once again, the four rounded a corner to see Snape struggling with his counterpart. The children skidded to a halt, unsure whether or not they should interfere. "Maybe we could just…" Ron started hopefully, but was silenced by an icy glare that Hermione had mimicked from her professor. She tapped her wand thoughtfully before casting a quick freezing hex on the form.

"Impossible!" Snape snarled as he broke through his confines. Harry glared.

"I guess Gryffindors aren't as useless as you thought professor." He stated, before relaying their orders and setting off through the castle again.

~~~/~~~

Minerva ducked and dived, swerved and turned between her two forms in an effort to be as agile as possible in the battle against her opponents. What was clear as she cut through the line of reinforcements was that the Beldam's servants were in no way near as powerful as the monster herself. Consequently Minerva found it rather easy to dispatch them, and it was within a few minutes that she cleared her first room for her allies.

"Minerva!" She found Flitwick battling an assortment of quills and pineapples complied against him, and though he seemed to be winning, the appearance of many scratches and burns caused Minerva to fear for her friend. "What are you doing, did you find Neville?"

She quickly summed up the nights events for him as they danced around the room throwing hexes and curses everywhere. "But Minerva! Where are the children now?" Filius exclaimed at the end of her tale.

"I have…sent them forward in order to forewarn our friends… of our retreat, they should then…make their exit to our world." A furious howl announced the arrival of the Beldam into their presence. "Filius, run."

The swarm of buttons seemed to leave him breathless. "NOW!" They set off for the doors to the next room along with the other staff present, and started to sprint through the corridors.

As a few of the less athletic members of staff started to lag behind, Minerva stopped and called out to her friend. "Filius, make sure every person is evacuated! I shall see to the Beldam!" She unconsciously imitated her youngest Weasley student as she determinedly rolled her sleeves, turning to face her foe.

~~~/~~~

The door swung open, showing their freedom.

"It's open! Hurry through!" The dimmer faculty members started crawling through, but as he walked past, Harry's charms teacher paused.

"Harry my boy; don't you think that you should go through first?" All four children stopped, they knew that they couldn't leave until their head of house was safe, and she still hadn't appeared anywhere in sight. They certainly didn't want to leave yet.

"Uhh, well you see Professor…" Neville started, looking to the other three for help.

"We read about the creature you see, and we found that she can sense when we leave and enter the place you see, so it would be in everyone's best interests if we went last, so that we could all get through." Hermione explained.

"We'll go through right after you!" Neville added, but Flitwick only narrowed his eyes, and questioned their motives. However, he was stopped in his tracks by the sneer of the potions master.

"If you're finished Filius I'd like to enter the tunnel before that monster realises we are here." Flitwick tried to explain his concerns, but was cut off by the oversized bat. "I sincerely doubt Potter is capable of such heroics on his own Filius, now if you would stop babbling and go through we can all go through quicker…" The potions master swept his cold glare over the four. "You will follow."

They gulped as he went through, but Harry immediately started to the door anyway. "Harry, where are you going?" Neville squeaked. Harry turned with a familiar look on his face.

"It's my fault Professor McGonagall is in here, and I have to make sure she gets out, don't try to stop me!" He glared, but was surprised when the others joined him.

"We're coming to, how else will you get back alive?" Hermione stated.

"Yeah, it's not just your fault you know!" Ron winked, making Harry feel warm again. Then he turned to Neville.

"Neville, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you should go through…" He stopped Neville's protests. "You've been hurt the most by the Beldam, you still need help."

"Besides," Ron finished "We need someone on the other side to make sure they're not suspicious for a while, and to tell them we've locked the door once they realise!" He pushed Neville along.

"Neville, you know this makes sense, go and get Madame Pomfrey ready for when we get back!" Hermione reasoned as they pushed him through "After all, it's us the Beldam wants and she wouldn't hesitate to hurt you further!"

They waited until Neville was halfway through the tunnel, and had them a solemn nod, to turn the lock in the doorway once more. "Remember, her weakest point is her eyes!" He stated as the door clicked closed.

With his sound advice in their heads, the three joined hands, looked at each other resolutely, and ran to find the noise, and their head of Gryffindor house.


	10. Getting Out Alive

_I Own Nothing! _

"I." Crash.

"Will." Crash.

"Destroy." Crash.

"You!" BOOM.

The beldam snarled as she viciously attacked the deputy headmistress of her parallel school. "I will scoop out your eyes and feast upon your magic!" The real headmistress deftly ducked under her blows. "You will never again interfere!"

Moving quicker than she ever had before, the elder witch conjured up a wall of flames in her defence, and hurried into the next room, looking for something that would hold the Beldam off long enough for her to escape.

The deafening boom as the doors were hurled off of their hinges stopped her once again, and she automatically ducked to avoid the hinges whirling in her direction.

"Do not think you can hide from me! THIS IS MY HAVEN!"

"Who knew that a monster would act so significantly to a mere loss?" Minerva murmured as she lunged to the side yet again, and cast a quick stinging hex at the monster's eyes in retaliation.

"You will not escape!" The Beldam was beyond incensed by now as she mindlessly destroyed her surroundings. "No one defeats me and lives!"

Her situation now desperate as the Beldam grew angrier; Minerva frantically tried to think of a way to get far enough away from her whilst simultaneously avoiding her blows.

Finally a stray swing from the Beldam's claw scraped her shoulder and sent her flying into the book case. The shock from the impact sent waves of pain through her system, and as she breathlessly tried to regain her composure the Beldam sidled up to her, and satisfied smirk now on her face.

"I will make you suffer…" she drawled as she raised a metallic claw to the Professor's chest.

~~~/~~~

A long drawn out scream greeted Hermione, Harry and Ron as they turned their latest corner. Hermione whimpered. "That sound like Professor McGonagall!"

Harry frowned. "We have to go help her!" But a hand from Ron stopped him.

"Wait, we've got to be tactical about this, I mean we can't just barge in there! We need a plan!" Ron frowned. "And I've got one, at least I think I do…"

~~~/~~~

Pain. A deep, throbbing pain in her chest was all that told her she was alive right now. Her vision came and went, but she kept her eyes closed. Something told her she didn't want to open them.

Her thoughts drifted to the reason she was here.

Did she regret it?

No.

She would never regret saving her children or friends, she was a Gryffindor after all. However she did wish the pain would stop.

"Minerva…."

"Open your eyes." A silky voice whispered.

"I've decided to keep you alive, as my servant." Her lids felt heavy, but they opened anyway to see the pristine face of the Beldam staring back at her. "You see, my dear husband was destroyed by those fools you call friends, and now I have no one to help me, since you took my children away. But I can use you, and then you can go get my children for me."

Metal scraped the skin of her cheek, leaving a long line of blood. "You see? It all works out in the end."

Minerva scowled, the Beldam was quite mad. How did she not realise that Minerva would never betray any of her children? But she was distracted again as she was thrown harshly to the floor.

Involuntarily Minerva's eyes rolled, and she caught sight of a red mop of hair disappearing behind a bookcase. She frowned, and her mind took some time to put the pieces together, but as soon as it did she was fully alert. '_Ronald! He's here!'_

Panic flared. '_I must…'_

"Hey Mother!" The Beldam froze, a smile lighting up her features.

"Ronald!" She trilled, elated at his appearance. "I knew you wouldn't leave me!" She stepped forward, her now human arms open, but Ron's face remained stony.

"I'm not here for you." The words were enough to stop her, and make her dumbly repeat the phrase. "I would never come back for you."

The heartbreak clearly displayed on the monsters face almost made Minerva feel sorry for her. Almost. She looked at the red-haired Weasley and tried to tell him to run, but all he did was wink cheekily back.

Because unknown to her, he was ready. When the Beldam charged at him, he started sprinting, an almost Slytherin smirk on his face, completely confident for the first time in his life.

A soft touch made her glance to her left, to find one of his best friends sitting next to her. "Hurry Professor, we have to hurry." The little girl whispered, and started to help her up. All McGonagall could do was splutter as she was blindly led to the exit of her hell.

"But, Rona-"

"Trust us. Harry's with him, but we need to get out soon!" The head lioness was ushered into a doorway, but came to her senses at the last moment.

"You go first." She was met with an almost identical fierce glare from the little girl that surprised her. But the elder woman held her ground, and the smaller girl sighed as she climbed quickly into the hole and beckoned her to follow.

They climbed out through the entrance, and were instantaneously enveloped in a wave of worried staff members. "We need to get ready for when they come through professor!" Hermione cried.

~~~/~~~

Meanwhile Ronald Weasley was silently praying that his plan would work, but it all seemed to be going well for now. He just hoped that Hermione and their Professor had gotten out in time.

Skidding to a stop in the other staff room, Ron slowly started to back away as the Beldam appeared, a furious expression on her face. "You will love me!" She hissed. "I will _make_ you!"

Ron tried not to look terrified as she came closer and closer. '_Any time now Harry…_' he thought as she took yet another step. And then-

CRASH

The huge chandelier fell 40ft from the ceiling and landed on her, forming a ring around her arms. The scene looked almost comical, and Ron couldn't wait to tell Fred and George how his plan had succeeded, but he didn't stop to think too long. Instead, he began sprinting to the opposite side of the castle, one destination in mind.

Harry appeared at his side, a victorious grin on his face as they raced each other to the finish line. In the distance they could hear the Beldam's roar, but didn't stop to gloat. Ron wasn't sure how long their trap would hold after all.

They were halfway through the tunnel when the thorns appeared again. Hisses of pain and agony accompanied them as the climbed bit by bit back to their freedom, and Ron was the first through. However, the other's didn't stop to let Harry climb through on his own, and merely dragged him out of there.

"Children!" A voice called from the other end of the tunnel, wailing in despair. Yet the metallic hand that reached through the tunnel was a complete surprise, even as it wrapped its claws around Hermione's neck, and started to drag her back in to the abyss.

"Professor!" Hermione yowled. The nearby members of staff grabbed the poor girl's limbs, and the elder professor leaned forwards into the tunnel.

"No! Not my children!" She roared as she blasting curse was sent at the Beldam's buttons eyes, sending her reeling backwards into her world, her shattered magical eyes exploding into fragments. "Close it! Close it quickly!" Minerva cried to her associates as she grabbed four suddenly crying children around her and held them close.

"It's alright, you're all safe now. You are all safe, and I will never let anything harm you again." All of the stress of the past days had seemed to finally rear its ugly head in her presence, and at a loos for what to do, Minerva tried to give the sobbing children what they needed. In a rare display of affection, she kissed the four children's heads and accompanied them to the hospital wing.

She spent the rest of her sleepless night watching over them.

~~~/~~~

Harry potter scooted over on the small sofa of his headmaster's office to make room for his newest friends, Hermione, Ron and Neville. The three looked around themselves uncertainly, and after each of the shrugged their shoulders, Harry concluded that they didn't know why they were there either, and so he took the initiative.

"We're sor-" Harry began, but was interrupted.

"Harry my boy, I didn't call you four here in order to punish you." The benign face of their headmaster said.

Neville looked uncertain. "Then why are we here?" He unconsciously rubbed his still bruised arms worriedly.

"Think of this, as a clean-up." The elder man replied mysteriously.

Hermione frowned, but it was Harry that asked the question. "What does that mean?"

"It means, my dear boy, that throughout this short period of time you have been through quite the ordeal, yes?" All of them nodded. "And as Headmaster of Hogwarts it is my responsibility to make sure that no other child experiences the same, and so I called you here in order to perform a very complicated and old version of the _fidelius_ charm."

"What's-" But Hermione interrupted Ron with her text book answer, making the headmaster chuckle.

"Your little friend is correct Harry, but you see this charm is _infinitely_ more powerful. In short, it shall make all but the secret keeper forget the events that transpired here. Until they share their secret, you will not remember a thing of what has happened."

The children sat in silence. "But you will tell us everything?" Harry asked uncertainly.

"Of course Harry!" The headmaster replied. "I could never keep such a secret from you, but this spell requires a lot of concentration and I will have to ask you to take part in it's ritual. I will be secret keeper in this instance, as headmaster to the school, and the secret will pass to the next headmaster until a method is found to completely destroy the doorway and monster within." He looked over the four children. "Now, will you consent?" All four children nodded, a unquestioning look in their eyes.

"Then we shall begin."

~~~/~~~

"Well?"

Albus Dumbledore looked up from his favourite moon-rimmed glasses to see his deputy perching in his old wooden chair, and put down his quill fluidly.

"Yes my dear?" He asked politely, aware that Minerva would bristle.

"Don't start with that Albus, I want to know how it whether or not the children agreed to having their memories restored." Her eyes clouded over briefly. "It will affect much if they did."

Albus sighed and turned to stroke Fawkes briefly. He thought for a few moments about how to break the news to her.

"No. no they did not Minerva."

Silence.

"Oh." Albus heard the small disappointed note in her voice, and turned to comfort his deputy.

"They simply were not ready for the shock Minerva, all of the children went through a terrible ordeal, and this affected them in a profound way." '_A way that I had not prepared for.'_ He added silently. "They simply did not wish to remember." He patted her hand comfortingly. "I am sure that should you wish it, you can rebuild the relationship with all of your students piece by piece."

Minerva took out and handkerchief and discretely blew her nose. "But there was so much I hadn't asked them! How am I to find out what made them upset? Or caused them to seek that monster out? I need to know now… And I do not think that I will be able to… 'rebuild' our relationship. It was built purely in the circumstances Albus, they will not wish to know now."

Albus grew grave. "Perhaps they were not meant to know. In any case, you have time." He turned to speak to Fawkes, the previous conversation now over in his mind. "Now Minerva, I have a favour to ask of you regarding the entrance into the third floor corridor…"

Minerva sighed, fully acknowledging that perhaps pretending the whole thing had never happened was for the best, and hoping with all her heart that the incident regarding the Beldam was the worst that her cubs would have to face in this school.

~~~/~~~

I LOVED THEM. I loved them, and they left.

Was what I asked too much?

I growl, low and predatory, I can still see that satisfied crone's smirk, mocking me as she held mine.

But something has happened, and now I am unable to set foot in the magical realm.

Someone has done something.

I can't see my children, my students, and my heart aches.  
>My stomach rumbles too. I'm not satisfied, and I can't survive like this.<p>

I branch out my powers, to find something, _anything, _to sustain me. But it's hard. The losses of my magical buttons were irreplaceable, and now I will have to make do with wretched, plain black. Useless, they limit me.

I HATE them. No, I hate HER.

Suddenly a faint tingling alerts me of the faintest magical presence. I conjure up a doorway with tremendous effort, delighted that I am able to, and send a small missionary through.

Seeing the sleeping muggle child brings the faintest smile to my face.

She isn't magical like fully-fledged wizard children, and her child-like magic was fast fading, but she would do. I would have to adjust to survive, but isn't that we all do? I search for the child's name, and a plan begins formulating.

I would find my children. Eventually, they would come back to me, or I would drag them kicking and screaming. No one escapes the other mother.

~~~/~~~

"Harry?" Hermione whispered, turning the newly rebuilt corridor with the urgency that only accompanied the survivor of a newly finished war.

"I'm here Hermione." A weary voice, which quickly turned into a yelp as a delicate hand reached around to whack him on the head.

"We thought…Oh Harry Potter! Ron he's here!" Hermione berated him, and then hugged him desperately. Harry briefly thought it was her way of making sure he was alive.

"What're you doing here mate?" Ron asked. Harry sighed, and ran his hands through his hair.

"McGonagall told me Dumbledore had more memories to show us." He didn't bother floating around the subject at all.

"What are they of?" Was the first question, but as Harry explained that even McGonagall didn't know because Dumbledore had told her to watch them, the two's curiosity piqued even more. When Neville finally stumbled around the corridor, it seemed that eyebrow could not be raised any higher.

"What has Dumbledore got to show, that's got to do with all four of us?" Ron moaned. "I have a bad feeling about this. Imaging it now 'Harry well done, but Neville, your task has only just begun, you are the new chosen one!'" He sighed, exasperated. "Is there no holiday?"

Fortunately his mood lightened the rather tense atmosphere, and managed to keep the conversation flowing all of the way back to the late headmaster's office.

Soon after stepping in, Hermione gasped. "He kept it the same…" She cried, with her eyes watering. Ron put an arm around her, and looked to Harry.

"Well, where's the memory?" He asked, and Harry strode up to a golden cabinet, and found one. Set aside from the rest. Once he'd got it, he tipped it into the pensive, and looked at his friends.

"Are we sure we want to do this?" He asked. All three nodded. So in they plunged.

When they finally settled al they found was an image of Dumbledore sitting in his office looking solemn. The first words he spoke were "I'm so sorry my children."

A long and lengthy explanation about their past later, and Dumbledore finally came to his decision. "…And so I told Minerva that you had not elected to retain your memories, knowing full well that had you retained them, my plans that already had been set in motion simply would not work. I apologise for deceiving you, but it was a necessary evil, for the greater good." Harry growled, but of course the memory did not notice. "Because of the spell you will forget this, should you leave now. I will give you time." He waited two minutes, in which the four adults looked at each other in shock. "If you are still here, I assume you wish to remember, and with the threat of Voldemort gone I shall no longer interfere. _M__emento__pythonissam__." _A faint breeze encircled them, and with a start their memories returned full force.

"I…can't believe he did that." Panted Neville, clearly still taking the information in.

"One word of warning children, your head of house is too unaware of your choice, and I think it would be wise of you inform her of your newly recovered memories, perhaps one of you may help her to rid the world of this evil creature one day." He gazed through his glasses at them, and then rose to stand. "And finally, I wish you all the best with you futures, may you all prosper."

The memory ended, and once again the group found themselves in the present.

"I can't believe…" Hermione trailed off.

"I always thought she hated us…" Ron murmured.

"She always seemed…" Harry sighed. "We'd better go tell her… She deserves to know we know."

~~~/~~~

They found the elder Professor in her old office, staring out of the window in a rare moment of silence. It was so quiet, that their footsteps which were soft on the carpet were enough to bring her out of her reverie.

"Yes?" She turned, and looked at their sad and torn expressions.

"We know about the Beldam, I'm so sorry." Hermione blurted, and burst into her newest set of tears. Quite astounded at the newest piece of information, Minerva was even more pleasantly surprised when she felt Hermione make her way into her arms, and shyly brought them around her.

She looked to the boys silently, questioning her strange behaviour, and found the three of them emotional too. Ron shook his head bravely, and Minerva's heart broke. She cursed Albus's timing, and his silly good-natured actions.

Couldn't he have had better timing? A bitter thought rose in her mind, but she banished, determined to believe that what Albus did had been done with good intentions. Instead, she opened her arms to the other four teens, who would always in her eyes be her children, and desperately tried to hold them together as they cried out their horrors from a war since won, and an adventure long forgotten.

~~~/~~~

_The end :'(  
>Ah well I enjoyed this and think it's decent, hope you do too. :)<br>Many, many, MANY thanks to Hermionewiz27, you've been lovely! :D_


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